The Price of Unity
by Lord Caelum
Summary: Multi crossover with a Halo and Star Wars focus. Decades after the Human-Covenant war, Grey Team has been recovered, bringing information that had cost them their lives. A new conflict is on the Horizon.
1. Prologue: 4 Folders and a Doctor

**Disclaimer: **Both Halo and Star Wars franchises do not belong to me. The Halo series belongs to Bungie, or 343 Industries which Bungie created to take care of the Halo franchise. Star Wars belongs to Lucasarts in turn. Any other Franchise I will add to this story will also not be made by me, and I will acknowledge them in turn.

**'Exitus acta Probat' - **_'The Outcome proves the Deed'_

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**November 10, 2584**

**Location: Classified**

The room was dominated by shadows, with only a single light source to illuminate the room. It was a glowing orb of glass, containing a combination of natural and artificial gasses to create a pale blue light. Abstract symbols appeared then and again on the orb's surface, not unlike a Rorschach inkblot test, and the light emanating from the orb responded in kind, painting the walls with those abstract symbols. The orb itself was being held in mid air by the small antigravity device at the bottom of the orb, which hummed quietly as it hovered over the clean desk.

A man was sitting behind the table, alternating between reading a series of folders neatly arranged over his desk and typing data into a nearby electronic pad. His face varied was hidden in the darkness, with the orb's light illuminating only the folders in his hand. The man had just finished with his task when a beep began to emanate from his electronic pad. He pressed on one of the controls and spoke into the pad.

"Yes? Who is it?" the man replied, his voice calm and composed, though one could detect a certain amount of exhaustion in his voice.

"I am sorry to disturb you sir, but your meeting is due now. She's waiting by the array." The voice was vaguely artificial, but spoke in a smooth female tone which made the AI's voice nearly indistinguishable from a normal human.

The man nodded and thanked the AI. A triangular icon suddenly appeared on the pad, glowing light blue. He looked at the pad for a few seconds, evidently deep in thought, and pressed the icon.

It briefly glowed orange for a moment then disappeared all together. Immediately, the far side of the room was quickly illuminated by a blue light. The light began to coalesce into a kind of cylindrical shape, with a human form slowly starting to appear inside it. After a few seconds, the teleportation array reached it's apex, bathing the entire room in blue light, temporarily showing the man's face, before the light receded and darkness took it's proper place. The man looked at the aged woman and, through the light provided by the orb.

"Good evening Dr. Halsey, I'm glad you could join me."

She looked at him and replied "Only because you said it was a matter of extreme importance Rear Admiral. The Reach project is at a critical phase, that planet could thrive within the next 5 years, or be barren for the next 50."

The man nodded, "I know of the importance of this project for you Dr. Halsey, both for the Navy benefit and your own...personal, stake in it. However, the current situation we find ourselves currently in is far more urgent than anything that has to do with the Reach project. Or that of any other project currently attached to it's Terraformation."

The Admiral's intent was clear to both of them, as well as the implications of his words. The Reach Terraformation Project had been ongoing for 15 years as a collected effort by UNSC. Even with the leaps and bounds that Humanity gained with the integration of Forerunner technology, Reach was still in a delicate phase of it's reformation. Even with the planet's fate so uncertain, there were still many projects riding on the Terraformation's success. From the colonization of the planet, to military bases and orbital defense platforms, to research facilities and other, more clandestine, purposes. Much relied on Halsey's efforts, and the financial backing from nearly everyone involved vaguely amused him and, no doubt, the doctor as well. Men and women who once decried her Spartan project as inhumane and useless now threw ridiculous amounts of both wealth and personnel at her. Though he privately doubted that she disagreed with those men now. Her views concerning her Spartan project were quite well known.

"Interesting..." she replied, eyes deep in thought as she sat down on the seat provided for her. She bobbed up and down slightly as the chair compensated for her weight and increased power to the antigravity generators slightly. He thought she muttered something about 'Untuned energy capacitors' but quickly became silent. They both knew that there was no need to voice the consequences of his declaration, they understood it perfectly.

He pulled out three folders, different from those he was reading earlier and placed them on his desk. He placed the first one, colored green and decorated with yellow stripes around the edges and the Spartan-II symbol on it's front, towards Dr. Halsey.

"Now, to the first matter at hand. Grey Team has been recovered."

While he couldn't see her expression, protected as it was by the folder, he could see a barely noticeable shaking in her hands as she read the report of Grey Team's recovery. She completely ignored him for the next fifteen minutes, going through the files with surgical precision and an almost fanatical zeal as Lecter softly drummed a five pattern beat on his desk. After a while, she waved her hand at him, which could either be taken as a dismissal or a gesture to continue.

Lecter decided to think of it as the latter. "As you can see, this information must be kept secret for as long as we can possibly do so. The Great War and The Pacification War has taken it's tole on us all. A discovery of this magnitude insures that, for all real practical purposes, we may have to engage in another possibly Intergalactic war sometime in the next few decades, 25 or 30, if we're lucky. As it stands however, we are at an extreme disadvantage.

While our overall population has finally reached acceptable levels after all these years, we still have so much left to do. Another war, at this moment, would cripple us for decades to come if this unknown party would initiate first strike upon us. So, as of November 1, 2584, with the full support of HIGHCOM, UNSC, and the tentative approval of the Federation of Allied Species, I currently hold supreme authoritative powers in pursuit of Operation: BERMUDA. These powers can only be withdrawn with the full cooperation of both the UNSC and HIGHCOM. I have called you here doctor, because we will have need of your unique expertise. While I have no wish to force you doctor, I would suggest that you help us in our goals. As you have before."

Doctor Halsey looked up at him, having finished leafing through the report. Her eyes showed a mixture of incredulity, amusement, and annoyance. "For what, pray tell, do you require from me then Rear Admiral? I have been absent from the Galactic stage for more than 20 years. Though I can imagine what exactly you will ask of me and I will be more than happy to assist you in the creation of AIs, smart or otherwise."

Lecter kept quiet, finding nothing to gain from being baited so obviously. UNSC Tech has advanced so much since the Great War that a Smart AI that Halsey would be known for dealing with would be insufficient for the UNSC's needs now. What's more, Halsey knew exactly what he was asking for, next to her skills in AI programming. He passed her a second folder, this one with the ONI symbol on it and the words 'Tacitus' written in small letters on the front. Halsey gingerly took the folder, as if expecting it would burst to flame at any moment, and began reading the first few lines. Lecter kept a careful watch of her eyes, spotting the transition from guarded, to intrigued, then interested, then horror, then back to guarded.

She looked at him with such a disappointed look that plainly demanded he feel ashamed at himself for even suggesting Tacitus to be created. Lecter brought himself up to this full height as he sat on his chair. He was about to continue speaking when Halsey interrupted him.

"No. No debates. No arguments. To be perfectly frank admiral, I've heard them all. In fact, I've probably defended them all as well. I've written so many reports whose main point is 'For the greater good' that I could, quite realistically, justify anything you wish me to. You want me to assist in the creation of the first Reach-class Smart AI. Which, from the specifications of the Contender-class, speaks volumes about that conflict when such a pacifist race would resort to such ruthless means of achieving victory, and which also speaks volumes about us that we are willing to adopt it. For me, however, It would require only a conflict of equal desperation for me to even condone this...creation. From what I've seen though? Not enough, not nearly enough. This...project of yours, lacks proper ground to stand on, justification for it's existence. Yes, you believe there is an immediate threat to the safety of this galaxy. However you do not show me the specifics you have splashed in black ink. While all this talk of defending the galaxy is good and well, you have honestly shown me nothing to be convinced off."

She leaned on his table then, and began counting off from her fingers. "From this, I can draw several conclusions. The first would be that there is nothing coming, and you are blowing excessive hot air over what seems to be the unfortunate deaths of three Spartans. Or you are deliberately hiding things from me, for whatever reason. If it is the former, then I have really nothing to say to you. If it is the latter, then you will tell me what I do not know Admiral, or this conversation is over. I will not be part of such horrors again, nor will I buy our salvation with innocent blood until I know all, and I mean _all,_ the facts. I have made my position to your predecessor quite clear Lecter, I will not be part of such monstrosities again unless the fate of our galaxy literally depends on it. No matter who stands with you or who you control, I will not compromise in this."

Lecter's face visibly twitched, as if controlling himself from throttling the woman. It was to be expected really, Halsey's reaction to the news, but it was no less irritating. He pulled out another folder, completely white with only a single, roughly triangular, symbol placed in the middle of it. After quickly disabling the security measures over the folder, he slid it over to the doctor.

That got her attention, and she immediately took the folder and read through the contents. She continued to read through it, her face becoming increasingly blank as she read. Lecter spoke 'Yes, I have deliberately hidden things from you. Which, in hindsight, seems rather useless considering who I'm talking to but, nonetheless, you will get what you want.

He stood up and began walking around the room, "Number one, the Sanghelli were the ones who alerted the Halcyon Class III Cruiser, _Star of Midlothian_ about the Prowler. They did not come aboard the ship, only attempting to communicate with the ship and then calling for UNSC assistance. The _Midlothian_, as well as several other cruisers arrived there within a day or so, as they were scouting for potential planets to be Terraformed before they received the message. Luckily for us, the _Midlothian's_ captain was intelligent enough not to directly communicate with HIGHCOM and used the Prowler's emergency communications device to contact us. After that, he managed to lock that entire UNSC Battle Group in an information blackout with any other element of the UNSC and had the patrol the surrounding area for any possible clues before Battle Group Zeta reached them."

"Number Two, despite having disappeared for over three decades, none of them show any sign of aging. That, alone, would not raise too many questions for us. Cryogenic sleep, Slipspace and many other options exist for answering those questions. However, there are faint traces of unknown radiation present on the entire ship, nor does cryo sleep explain why the onboard computers of both the Prowler and Grey Team's MJOLNIR Armor seem to still believe it's 2554."

"Number Three, the slashes across your Spartans' bodies were too intricate for energy swords. Slashes and stabs too precise and...elegant, for them to have come from a Sanghelli. However beyond that, the shape of the energy weapon is all wrong, it would have to be a single blade of energy, much more in line with traditional Human swords to have created that damage. Which either meant a particularly eccentric old man with too much time, money or both in his hands, or another party which we are not aware off"

"Number Four, the energy marks on the marks of the Prowler are inconsistent with Covenant plasma damage, from during the Great War or now, under the scientific advancements made by the Federation. They seem weaker, but much more precise than the Plasma that the Federation races use. Also, considering the fact that the Prowler's stealth abilities, we must also assume that this unknown party has means of detecting stealth technology."

Halsey was quiet. Her hands leafed through the folder with economic force, looking through design schematics and data collected from Forerunner information banks. "So, I suppose you wish to create Tacitus because of our current difficulties in Forerunner technology?"

"Yes." Lecter replied simply. No words need be said beyond that. The limitations that were implemented on Forerunner technology was only really apparent upon discovery of their Warships. While every other tech found on deposits round the galaxy were accessed with little to no trouble, the ones explicitly used for warfare were denied to Humanity. Which, considering what the security defenses did to the Federation when they found their own cache, was quite good luck.

Not to say that could not be analyzed. Reverse engineering of recovered Forerunner tech had catapulted Humanity's technology many times over. However the weapons of those who came before, were still out of their grasp. It was hypothesized that an AI based on Forerunner tech could shed light onto why exactly the weapons were under lock down, hence the need for Tacitus, or at least one of the needs.

Dr. Halsey looked at the designs "I've often wondered why, from what we learned of their last days, why they only sent one Contender to fight the Flood, and one Contender to fight it's brother. Wouldn't sending more than one be the more logical choice? It certainly wasn't because of their resources, they could afford to build another Contender right after the Original's defection didn't they? This...this answers many questions..."

She looked at Lecter then, "I believe that I can create this. If the information in that..._folder_ is true." as she motioned to the white folder on her desk. "However considering the Federation accepts you being in control of ONI, I can assume they know of this as well? I can also hope that no one else knows of this?"

"Yes." he replied. "The UNSC Battle Group is currently under ONI's custody. I requested, in person, that my counterpart in the Federation knows of this situation. As it is, they have sworn themselves to secrecy, as have the Federation Battle Group. But...that is not all I have to ask of you."

Lecter took out a folder from his desk, with the symbol of a Bird of Prey with it's wings spread up in the air, with an energy sword on it's left talon and an assault rifle on it's right. Dr Halsey took one look at the folder's title and gave Lecter a look that could have glassed Reach all over again. From the rumors of what Dr. Halsey did when HIGHCOM requested her, he decided to count himself lucky. She looked at him straight for 10 seconds and, with the finality of a Plasma round to the skull "No."

Lecter prepared visibly prepared himself "Doctor, as much as I know how you dislike the notion of the Spartan-IV program, the discovery of Grey Team has changed everything. We no longer need the Spartans to clean up insurrections who believe that genocide upon the former Covenant Races is acceptable, or to move them against the Sanghelli, Jirlhanae or the other races. We need them for this. If we are right, and another civilization is out there, then we must be prepared for another war. We know next to nothing about this civilization, whether they will cooperate with us or desire our deaths, but the deaths of our Spartans do not bode well. We must be prepared that they would kill us as readily as the Covenant did, believing anything else would be tantamount to suicide."

At this point, all semblance of control left Halsey as she stood up and began lecturing Lecter like a mother would lecture her child. "I will NOT allow any more children to die for us Admiral. No more. Our Fleet is more than capable of protecting us now. The modifications to all existing UNSC ships have allowed us to protect what we currently have. The Archangel Program would put our fleet to the same level as the Covenant fleet before. The Necropolis-Class Cruiser already in production proves that the idea around the new fleet is sound. The Spartan Program would take decades to complete. The OBELISK Class will be in production within a Year, which, judging from what I've seen of the design, would mean anything following that would be more than capable of defending us. We would have hundreds, maybe even thousands of those ships by the end of the Spartan program, considering our current production capability, and the likelihood of finding and constructing our own Dyson Spheres, that number would likely be conservative. You do not need the Spartans."

"Perhaps, but the additions of the Spartans would not have any negative effects to BERMUDA, in the contrary actually. You can feel it as well as I do, can't you Halsey? The resentment. The chaos that practically seethes in the air from our worlds? It is minuscule for now, but it would only increase over time. We've had to redirect funds into civilian projects for BERMUDA and, quite frankly, the civilians are not pleased. But they are sober for now, soon they will thirst for blood. The Federation's blood. A conflict could very well erupt before the Envoy drones even reach the destination! The addition of the Spartans to BERMUDA would insure that the citizens be pacified. We also hope that the addition of the Sanghelli to the program, and of Humans to the Sanghelli Elite programs, be the first step to insure unity. As it is, I'm quite thankful the rebels haven't caused any trouble for us lately."

"Still, if unity is all that you are after then why not the use of androids? Use them to unite the civilian populace if you want, the Spartan's combat aptitude would make it as though there was no difference. Considering our technology, that should be simple enough."

"Perhaps." Lecter conceded "The thought has crossed our minds before. But imagine what would happen should they figure out we lied to them about the Spartans. They have accepted the Spartans are flesh and blood, though they continuously deceive themselves over the MIA files. They believe the Spartans are the best humanity has to offer and they are right. If the news got out that they were robots they would demand an explanation right before portions of our Fleet go and commit bombing runs on Federation worlds! It is too risky, they must be human."

"It is also a risk of what would happen should anyone realize we kidnap children and train them to be killing machines. If anyone were to come across those files the public outcry would be incredible, and the drop of morale more so."

"Do not worry about the control of our secrets doctor, I can assure you that we have that under our control very nicely. But my point still stands, they would be Gods of War, and a symbol to both the Federation and Humanity that we will not accept Genocide lightly. That folder proves that it is a distinct possibility. Now, will you help us with the Spartan program as well?"

Halsey gave a frustrated sigh. "One last question Lecter. If we do find out that this civilization is both willing and able to wipe us off the face of the universe, what would you do?"

Lecter answered without hesitation. "Let the public know about it in such a way that the war seems inevitable. The ensuing panic and outrage of another war would cause more power to be handed over to the UNSC to insure a swift end to any hostilities before it happens. We will then do what is necessary doctor. As we always have."

Halsey's face was impassive. She was reading through all the folders, not bothering to look Lecter in the eye as she spoke. "Indeed. You would unite all of us at the expense of this other Civilization then Lecter?"

The man shrugged "I would not want to commit genocide for no real purpose, it would be a useless endeavor. But neither will I hesitate if the price of unity demands it. It will all really depend upon what the Envoys will find, all of this is still in the formulation stage. We are analyzing all possibilities, from an alliance to a war of extermination."

Halsey stood up then, leaving the files on the table. "How would that make us any better than Truth, Mercy or Regret? They sought to burn an entire civilization that was a threat to their unity and peace at the expense of those who were in their way? You would become exactly like them Lecter."

"Did I ever deny I was doctor?"

She looked at him for a few moments before walking towards the teleportation array. "The limited population we currently have will mean that the number of Spartans candidates would likely be lower than the Spartan-IIs. However the improved medical procedures should insure a more than 95% success rate."

"Glad to hear it." Lecter returned to the information on his desk, looking through files and information transcripts from agents in the field. Halsey stopped at the array, her hand over the holographic activation panel."

"As a matter of curiosity, Admiral. This machine they are evidently constructing, the information my Spartans died to transmit. What is it's code name?"

Lecter smiled briefly as he continued to work. "The Death Star doctor. We know next to nothing about it besides that but I'm sure that you can hypothesize what it would do from the name itself."

The doctor stood there for a moment, then disappeared in a flash of blue light. Illuminating the room for a second and then vanishing.

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**The Echelon series**

The decision for the Echelon series was a direct result of the Pacification War, mainly due to increased conflict around Human controlled space. After the Aurora Incident, demand for an effective combat warship grew, culminating into what would be called the Echelon series. Derived from scavenged Forerunner and Covenant technology, the Echelon series was designed to augment the combat capabilities of existing UNSC warships. By November 2555, the Forerunner-based technologies would create the Echelon II-Class and in May 2557, the Echelon III-Class Vessels.

The Echelon Class II was an effort by the UNSC to create Warships that could go one-on-one against Sanghelli or Jirilhanae warships. The first effort would be upgrading every existing warship that had survived the Great War with technological improvements designed to increase the warship's battle capability. Included in these upgrades would be an Artificial Gravity generator, augmented armor capable of withstanding a plasma torpedo, the ability to perform micro-Slipspace jumps due to an improved slipspace drive, and 17 other more minor adjustments. The most important of them all however, would be the inclusion of an onboard Shield Generator, derived from technologies taken from Installation 05. However, the Shield Generators were vastly inferior to Sanghelli and Jirilhanae technology, often being nothing more than a mild inconvenience when tested using Sanghelli Plasma Torpedoes. The shield is potent enough, that a direct hit will negate enough energy that the ship will be allowed to escape, though with significant structural and electronic damage.

With the rediscovery of the Onyx Shield World on October 2556, and the naval shipyards within, work on the Echelon III-Class began. Unfortunately for the program, a larger focus was put on the Archangel Project, and work on Echelon was slow. On March 2557, the first Necropolis-class cruiser was built on the Onyx shipyards and mass production of the Necropolis began. With the conclusion of the NECROPOLIS program, more effort was put into the Echelon III program. By this point however, the status of the program had changed. Echelon III would be formed with a mind on supplementing the new Necropolis Class Battlecruisers and any succeeding naval warship.

By the project's completion on May, the Echelon III had several distinct advantages to it's earlier cousin. The first would be a total redesign of the ship's Shield Generators, in light with recent discoveries on the Onyx shield world. The new design would enable a Marathon-Class Cruiser to withstand a little more than a single Plasma Torpedo or 2 MAC rounds, thus closing the gap with Sanghelli shield technology to reasonable levels. Along with this breakthrough is the addition of a point defense laser system to counter Fighters, and a Long Range Camera Laser system, which would be the laser equivalent of the MAC system already in use. These, along with other improvements, finally closed the gap between Great War-era Sanghelli Fleet and the UNSC Fleet.

Though progress on the Echelon series has been indefinitely halted, due to efforts of the Archangel Program, the Echelon series has still left it's mark on the UNSC fleet. The Echelon Classes, at present, holds more than 78% of the UNSC fleet, protecting it's colonies against Kig-Yar pirates or Insurrectionist forces against the Government. Though somewhat aged at this point, in both maintenance and technology, the Echelon class continues to protect numerous UNSC colonies across UNSC controlled space, and the UNSC continues to produce them to this day.

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**Author's Notes.**

The idea for this story came to me by way of playing Halo Reach just a bit too much (Legendary while going solo is a bitch). Mainly, it was during the actual glassing of Reach and the UNSC's efforts to evacuate the survivors, specifically when the Jirilhanae ship fired on the escaping civilians. I thought 'How likely would peace be after the Human Covenant war?'

According to the Halo wikia, there were 23 Billion human lives lost during the war. Granted, most of the people who's loved ones died are dead themselves, but there's still the fact that there will be people resentful at the Covenant for that. I personally doubt that humanity would really be at peace with the remainder of the Covenant species after so many have died, at least for the first few decades or so. At the very least, children who survived their own home worlds being glassed would never forgive the Sanghelli who lead them for most of the war. Or the Prophets who demanded Humanity's extinction. Or the Kig-Yar or Unggoy who actively fed on the dead. No way, and some of them would go into the military. Some of them would become Generals and Admirals. Even if a fraction would forgive the Covenant, it's a given there would be those who wouldn't. Though the entirety of the Prophets being hunted to extinction would help matters with everyone involved, it is unlikely that that would be enough.

Then there's the issue of Forerunner technology. The coordinates at Onyx would still be hidden somewhere within ONI, considering it's importance as the Spartan-III training ground, so the UNSC would eventually find it again. If the Shield World in Halo Wars was any suggestion, there's a good chance that there would be weapons, or weapon schematics hidden inside the Onyx Installation. Considering that the Forerunners could use 'Premature Stellar Collapse' as a readily available tactic against the Flood and were stopped only because of ethical concerns, at least in the beginning. Yeah, you could expect some truly horrific weapons.

As for why Star Wars exactly, I wanted a series that would present a challenge to Forerunner technology (which all the races would undoubtedly try to scavenge), yet not curb stomp them into oblivion. According to the Forerunner's Technological Achievement Tiers, Star Wars as a whole would stand somewhere in between Tier 1 or 2 maybe. Tier 1 being Forerunner level and Tier 2 being Covenant. This would, roughly, make for some interesting conflict.

Concerning crossoverness, I am currently undecided if I will add more franchises into the mix. While there are some whom I would be extremely excited to include, there also have to fit in with the general theme of the story. Following that line of thought, anything related to Fantasy is out by default.

So, that's basically it. Please write polite reviews politely. First fan fic so there's likely to be grammatical errors that some might pick up that I haven't. Note also that there's likely to be very few characters from the Halo series itself showing up. Most are either lost in space (M.C and Cortana) or Dead (Johnson and Miranda Keyes). Rest assured though that the Arbiter will show up...eventually...maybe...still unsure about Sanghelli life span to be certain...yeah.

Finally, yes I know I said finally in the last paragraph don't bugger me about it, If I could get someone to beta read my stuff before I send it out, it would be greatly appreciated. I'm new here, so I don't know that many people. Which is code word for 'I'm a lonely bastard, help needed.'

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**Edited Note**

_Finally _got around to editing this chapter. While I'm somewhat pleased that I managed to keep things relatively same, I've made a few changes. Matters about the Obelisk and Mausoleum class has been replaced with the Archangel Program, as I had only a vague understanding on how the new gen ships would worked at the time. The Mausoleum class was supposed to be a Cruiser like ship, but eventually got phased out when it's purpose got merged with what would be the Monolith-class Superdreadnought, which mixes the purpose of both of them.

I also added that note that the UNSC were continuing to build the Echelon series since it seemed to say that work on them ceased entirely. All in all, not much change. Though I'm weirded out as to _why, _exactly, Halsey's name kept disappearing when I updated it originally. Weird.


	2. The Sanghelli Situation

**Disclaimer**: Both Halo and Star Wars franchises do not belong to me. The Halo series belongs to Bungie, or 343 Industries which Bungie created to take care of the Halo franchise. Star Wars belongs to Lucasarts in turn. Any other Franchise I will add to this story will also not be made by me, and I will acknowledge them in turn.

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'_Meum Pactum Dictum'_

'_My Word is my Bond'_

**November 14, 2584**

**Sanghellios**

Ghell Ladamee was excited. More excited than, he believed, he ever was about anything in his life. He attempted to conceal it, with the same massive stoicism that he had seen those of the Elite Guard or the Human soldiers do when on parade. His face mandibles were shut tight as he had seen his elders do, as well as to mimic the firm resolute bearing that both Human and Sanghelli possess. He believed he was doing an excellent job, but those with any familiarity in body language could tell from his jittery fingers and the excitement seeping from his eyes that it was all he could do to control himself from shouting into the air, celebrating at his good fortune.

Of course everyone had heard of the Spartans. Those proud and noble human soldiers who were the harbingers of death against Truth and his liars, who not only represented death and fear on the battlefield, but hope to his allies and the personification of Humanity's best. Every babe who learnt to talk knew of the stories their parents would tell about the Spartans, voices tinged with respect and the smallest amount of awe and fear which their pride allowed. From the moment they had learned of that, it had been a common game when they were children that, those who could not reach the coveted rank of Grand Marshall or Zealot, would attempt to become a Spartan in the other camp. Ghell had been in some of those fights before, and the fighting for the position was always fierce.

His father would have disapproved, but one day, when his parents and elder siblings were otherwise occupied, he had sneaked into his father's private room, a crime which would no doubt have earned him a brutal spanking! In any case, he had bravely faced the fear of retribution and looked around at his father's life, a monument to both himself as a Sanghelli, and the shame of being implicit in the vile Truth's plans.

Once, he was told by his mother, after much prodding and begging on his part, that his father's room was once much largert and ornate. Armor after armor was laid out in a circle and held aloft by antigravity generators. Each armor represented a portion of his life under the Covenant as one of their best and brightest. Ranging from the armor of the rank and file, then upwards higher and higher until he did not even know the names for some of them. Energy Swords, both depleted and charged, lined the walls, a memento to his days of battle and trophies of kills that he had made lined the wall, ranging from a piece of armor, to a weapon, then even to a skull! Even after the three years of separation, being sequestered to the common rooms as did all Sanghelli males when they reached the age of five, that memory of his mother's story of the room lived on in a corner of his heart.

However, he still remembered when his mother's face darkened and told him of the Great Schism. When his father realized that he and all of his kind were deceived and used. She told him that his father had stormed into the magnificent room, gathered all the armors, the weapons, and the trophies, and launched them out of an airlock, leaving only the most basic of armor and weapons with him.

It took him many years, past the conclusion of the Civil War, then to the brutal battles and tragedies of the Pacification War, then to the formation of the Federation, until he had won back all that he had thrown away. His mother said that his father never regretted the decision to throw away all that he had gained, much to the youngling's confusion. When questioned further, His mother had smiled sweetly and said that, 'If all of his life was nothing but a lie, then what was the use of prestige when it was bought with lies.' That story left a mark upon Ghell, imposing upon him the importance of Honor above all, even personal gain.

That story had rebounded across his mind as he saw the trophy room, decorated with armors, and weapons but no trophies. Not anymore. His mother would not reply to that particular question but Ghell believed that, even after all these years, his father was still ashamed of the part he played in the Great War.

It was during that time when he came across a video recording. It was not a mass produced design but rather a military one, designed to record the events of a battle and sent to the Sanghelli's superiors for analysis, failure to do so meant a severe punishment, due to the possibilities of,military secrets being leaked. Ghell had no doubt in his mind that his father had sent all of his recordings, but the fact that this one remained seemed...odd.

So, under the influence of excitement and the novelty of having successfully sneaked into his father's room without him noticing, he had taken the device, found a suitably hidden area of the trophy room, and hit the play button.

In the beginning of the video, there wasn't anything of interest that much. Well, that wasn't really true. He saw a video of Sanghelli in beautiful golden armor, standing in attention and wielding the armor of the Honor Guards. Ghell was mesmerized with awe at the way those Sanghelli behaved, standing in attention patiently, the stance of a true warrior. After a few moments, the camera's view turned to the side, to see the honorable Sanghelli they were undoubtedly protecting. He was unsure of the specifics, but he knew that the Sanghelli Honor Guards were deployed only when a person of extreme significance was present.

Ghell nearly deactivated the recording in shock when he saw who they were protecting. It was frail, and looked weak and old and seemed to have had no physical strength whatsoever. It was sitting in a hover chair, with many ornamentations around the chair itself. Chell could not see what the creature was doing, hunched over some strange looking technology which he thought was Forerunner, if he recalled his lessons correctly. It seemed to have been a sort of ritual to do something, perhaps something important with the lie that was the Great Journey? Her could see the other Sanghelli, proud in their bearing but with contentment in their faces as well. As though all was well.

He had heard many stories about the San 'Shyuum. Heard about how those treacherous fiends had deceived the races of the Covenant into doing their bidding, nearly resulting in the destruction of everything. He had heard his father, or any of his elders, when they would speak of it, talk of the San 'Shyuum with righteous rage. He had seen many diagrams about the San 'Shyuum themselves as a race, their importance to the Covenant and their sinister scheme but, after all that time, this was the first video he had seen of any San 'Shyuum.

The video did not emit sound, the noises common in a battlefield would have left any sound useless to the Sanghelli generals, but it was apparent when something interfered with the ritual. All the Sanghelli tensed at once, and even the San 'Shyuum stopped his demented ritual to look at his guards and seemed to tell them to do something.

The Honor Guards sprang into action, all of them moving into the door to counter whatever threat the San 'Shyuum had ordered them against. Ghell, despite hatred towards the vile Prophets of the Covenant, felt confident that whatever was beyond those doors was a threat that the Honor Guards could defeat with ease. Where they not the most talented warriors of the sanghelli? Even though they served the Great Liars, they were still the greatest warriors of the sanghelli, armed with weaponry and armor beyond that of all but the most accomplished sanghelli.

The confidence Ghell felt slowly faded as he took a glance at the other Honor Guards. They were not arrogant about the belief they would win, as most lesser Sanghelli would, but neither were they quietly confident of their impending success, as true Sanghelli should. They seemed...grim, as though they were uncertain of the outcome of the coming battle. They were not crippled with fear or horror, but their lack of confidence worried Ghell and all of his lessons about the Great War came seeping back.

He had studied about the Abomination, or the Flood as the humans called them. Enders of the Forerunners, they fought briefly near the conclusion of the Great War. The Abomination was responsible for the fall of High Charity, the deaths of Hundreds of Thousands, perhaps millions, and were only stopped through the attempts of the Great Arbiter and The Last Spartan. While Ghell himself did not fear the Parasite, well...perhaps a little, it was still a worthy foe to be fought.

Ghell's thoughts were interrupted when the door opened. At this point in time, Ghell Ladamee knew very little about the Spartans themselves. He knew of the great regard his elders placed upon the Spartans, knew what they looked like and knew of their Legendary fighting prowess, but he never truly believed them. The young sanghelli could not wrap his mind around the idea that a single human could best the sanghelli's Elite over and over again.

That disbelief crashed and died as he continued to watch the video. As soon as the Sanghelli had seen the Spartan they opened fire at once, sapphire plasma temporarily blinding Ghell because of it's intensity. Even with all that fire though, Ghell could still see that, though he could hardly believe it, the Spartan had _dodged_ the plasma, moving just as fast, if not faster, than a sanghelli. He then rebuked himself, noticing the orange film around the Spartan which represented his energy shield. The camera started to move, as though about to charge the Spartan with his weapon when it faltered. Ghell was confused until the camera turned to look at it's feet. Ghell recognized the shape of a human fragmentation grenade moments before it blew apart.

It seemed that only the Honor Guard's personal shields had saved the sanghelli from mortal harm, but nor the after effects of the grenades explosion as it shocked the sanghelli's nervous system, judging from the fact that the Honor Guard did not move for a few more seconds until returning to the fray.

Ghell was shocked at the carnage, already two of the Honor Guards were dead, bullet holes peppered into the upper body of one, and another who's head had seemed to have been expertly shot with a short projectile burst. As Ghell looked at the bodies in a kind of shock, his attention was drawn to the fighting spartan, engaged in hand to hand combat, hand to hand, with a sanghelli wielding an energy sword! The spartan himself was wielding a kind of cylindrical weapon, which the spartan was using with deadly efficiency.

The human ducked under a horizontal strike, firing an explosive round into the sanghelli's knee caps. The shields held, though the sanghelli himself seemed enraged and attempted a downward strike, whcih the spartan dodged by turning to the left and, using the gun as a sort of club while taking advantage of his momentum, knocking the sanghelli of his feet by swinging at his legs again. Ghell could not judge the impact, but the fact that the energy shield failed at that point and the Honor Guard's screams spoke more than any observation Ghell could have made. After the Honor Guard had fallen, the Spartan aimed his weapon at the sanghelli's face and blew his brains across the floor.

This provoked every other Honor Guard around the spartan's immediate vicinity to seemingly ignite in rage, attempting to swarm the spartan in an attempt to kill him. The spartan seemed to expect this, dodging plasma fire and switching between the weapons he had to fire a constant shower of varied bullets and throwing grenades as he did so.

The grenades distracted a large portion of the Honor Guards, though 3 managed to dodge the grenades and made a beeline straight towards the spartan, igniting their energy swords as they did so. The spartan noticed the approach of the trio and pulled out a smaller weapon, and fired accurately towards the approaching Sanghelli. The sanghelli continued to march forward, and merely increased their stride as the weapon run out of ammunition several seconds late. Though they shields were nearly depleted, they were within striking range of the spartan in seconds and the lead sanghelli roared as the energy sword approached the spartan's faceplate...

and missed easily. The spartan had moved incredibly fast, even faster than when he had dodged the plasma shower earlier. As the sanghelli lost his balance for the slightest moment, the spartan raised his weapon, which had a sort of scope on top of it and fired used the gun's butt to strike Honor Guards head, causing the already stressed energy shields to burst apart and allowing the Spartan to fire tat the the sanghelli's head which snapped back and his body to fall to the ground..

The next sanghelli changed tactics, using 2 plasma rifles in each hand to insure a more difficult battle for the spartan. He fired plasma bolts at the spartan, while roaring challenges towards the human and insults towards his character, though not advancing to take advantage. Ghell was confused, seeing as all the Honor Guards was making the spartan do was dodge. Realization flooded his mind when he realized that, with the spartan momentarily occupied, the rest of the Honor Guards could encircle the spartan. Ghell's observation proved true when the camera began moving in coordination with the other Honor Guards, evidently preparing to swarm the spartan again. Further back, he saw the third Honor Guard fall back and wield a large green weapon, which Ghell realized was a Fuel Rod Cannon. Ghell winced at that, a Fuel Rod Cannon would be more than sufficient to burn through an Honor Guard's energy shield, and would likely kill the spartan if he was properly hit.

The spartan, even with all the sanghelli coming for him, somehow managed to spot the weapon and deliberately moved away from the Honor Guard's line of sight. The spartan ran, attempting to make sure the fuel rod gun would not gain a lock on him while the rest of the Honor Guards in hot pursuit.

Faster than Ghell's eyes could track, the spartan jumped down into a lower level, disappearing from sight and causing the other Honor Guards to howl in rage. Without hesitation, the Sanghelli double wielding his weapons threw away one of his plasma rifles, activated his energy sword and jumped off after him, along with the one that wielded the fuel rod cannon and 5 other Honor Guards, including the sanghelli who's helmet this belonged to. The remaining Honor Guards fell back and began to establish a perimeter before he lost sight of them as they dropped down into the lower level.

All of them had followed the first's example, double wielding a projectile weapon while keeping his energy sword at the ready. They established a protective ring around the sanghelli with the fuel rod cannon, insuring that the spartan would not gain access to the potent weapon. Their weapons glowed in the darkness, throwing a portion of their surroundings into bright relief, but even with the blue light emanating from their energy weapons, their surroundings were still dark and there was no sign of the spartan.

They moved to block off the main staircase leading towards the upper levels, but before they could make any meaningful resistance, several blue blurs appeared at the edge of the camera's vision, one after the other. Ghell had realized that they were plasma grenades before they all the thrown explosives wrecked havoc among the Honor Guards. Ghell could only see a bright flash of light and loud, very, very loud screams and isolated plasma fire before it stopped.

Ghell waited a few more moments, thinking the video was over before the camera restarted. The young sanghelli realized that the new view was from the floor, meaning that the owner was either unconscious or dead. The view was slightly obscured, but Ghell could see the bodies of other sanghelli, some blown apart by the plasma grenade barrage earlier, others seemingly having had their faces blown off by projectile fire, but the most frightening sight of all was the Spartan himself.

After all this time, Ghell could finally understand why his elders had once labeled the Spartans as Demons. The Spartan stood over the honor guards, seemingly looking through the bodies for something. Ghell could see large battle scars over the alien armor, and the strange orange faceplate that reflected only the outside. It gave of the impression of stoicism, not the stoicism of the sanghelli, that of a proud warrior, but that of an impartial killer. Neither hating, nor loving the carnage he inflicted. The Spartan stood over the bodies for a few moments before he picked up the fuel rod cannon from earlier and turned his back to return to the upper floors.

Suddenly, the camera began to show an arm holding a plasma pistol glowing with green energy, obviously overcharged. Ghell realized that the sanghelli who owned the camera had attempted to deceive the Spartan into showing a weak point. The Spartan managed to sense the sanghelli's ill intent and dodge, but not before the plasma impacted and destroyed the Spartan's own energy shield. The honor guard immediately began to rush after the Spartan, who responded by firing a weapon which, though somewhat smaller than the three burst weapon he had seen earlier, fired much more rounds which inevitably caused the energy shield to nearly break, just before the Spartan ran out of armor and threw the weapon at the sanghelli, causing the shield to break completely.

The sanghelli seemed unfazed, using his free hand to aim a devastating punch to the spartan's center of mass, causing the armor to dent and a deep male voice to grunt from within the armor, proving that the spartan was actually human, which Ghell was having doubts about not a moment earlier.

The spartan countered by using his left knee to impact the saghelli's center of mass, causing a painful sounding gasp to emanate from him. Right after that, as the honor guard attempted to aim his now cooled plasma pistol to the Spartan's face, the human's left foot came down on the sanghelli's right knee, causing it to break and forcing the honor guard to let go in pain.

The Spartan did not waste time after that, he pulled out his pistol, which was roughly as large as his hand, aimed the gun, and Ghell swallowed the completely irrational fear that the Spartan was aiming at _him_, and began firing at the sanghelli. To the honor guard's credit, he continued to run after the Spartan, only stopping when the gun's ammunition became depleted. The sanghelli sank to his knees and, the last image which the youngling could see, was an insanely fast foot coming towards the sanghelli's head before it broke into static.

Ghell would remember the contents of that video for the rest of his life, though the meaning of what happened in that video changed for him over the years. His first interpretation of the video was fear. Fear that a human, who'm though showing great skill and bravery, but still human, could have defeated so many honor guards at once and, he was sure, every other honor guard upstairs as well as the Great Liar above.

Afterwards, when he went to the common rooms and started training with sanghelli of his age, that fear slowly turned to respect as his own training made him appreciate how well trained a human would have to be in combat to best the honor guard regiment of a San 'Shyuum.

Respect became admiration when several years into their training, for the purpose of teaching the young humility, they were all arrayed to have a sparring match with a retired Spec-Ops sanghelli. While the training regiments of an honor guard and the spec-ops were entirely different, they still demanded the same amount of training to hone their bodies into a lethal weapon. Each child would fight the old sanghelli one at a time, to test him and themselves.

Not one of them could even touch the old man, whom Ghell could tell was enjoying the matter most immensely. He slid to the left when they punched with the right, jumped upwards or back when they aimed for his legs, administering a lighthanded strikes whenever they attempted to grapple with him, forcing them to abandon the attempt. While Ghell understood that he was still a youngling, far from fighting amongst the ranks of elder sanghelli, he could still understand the sheer power and skill necessary for the Spartan to have bested all of those Honor Guards.

With that thought in mind, he strived to become the best. To become, if not a Spartan, something that could beat it in honorable combat. He strived in his studies, learning combat techniques and proper stance, learning tactics and when Honor must be tempered with logic and common sense. He assisted his comrades as well, teaching them what he had learned and rejoicing whenever they would prove to be a worth foe in the sparring ring, for every hardship meant that he would only become stronger for it.

Then one day, after he had been told that a decade has passed while he was in this world, his hardships and training paid off. His group was ordered out of their beds and told to gather into the courtyard, which they did in perfect military precision. Not an unexpected occurrence, but the person there to greet them was.

There were three figures, mostly bathed in darkness but to whom their general figures could still be seen. One was a sanghelli, not just any sanghelli either but what looked to be a _General_! The sanghelli wore golden armor, as befitting his rank, and stood with a proud bearing that spoke volumes more than the sanghelli's armor. He could see an energy sword, placed at his side and unactivated, with a weapon that looked similar to the fuel rod cannon such as he saw in the recording before, though it seemed more altered in appearance compared to the older version. He controlled his urges to look at the rest of his brothers, who were no doubt also filled with awe that a General of the Sanghelli was here.

The second figure was more unfamiliar, and caused Ghell to experience what humans would call a double take, appropriate considering who the person was. It appeared to be a human woman, seemingly advanced in age but with sharp eyes that showed she was not to be trifled with. This, in combination with her age, caused Ghell to automatically have great respect for the human woman. She would have undoubtedly gone through the shameful Great War, and the fact of her current presence on a sanghelli base camp meant that she not only was she a survivor, but one of extreme importance as well, seeing as only diplomats or military officials could walk within it's halls. Even as Ghell was considering why the old woman could be hear, their Instructor, noticing the inattentiveness of the younglings due to their guests, demanded their silence with a quick yell of command at the trainees. They all immediately stood to attention, Ghell feeling particularly ashamed at his brief lapse of discipline to the chain of command. What would the General think! He felt shame permeating his entire body at his inexperience and resolved to do better.

Their Instructor nodded, and spoke respectfully to the General, though Ghell couldn't hear it, and worried again about his performance. After a few moments talking with the human woman, the General stepped forward, immediately causing every other sanghelli in the line, including Ghell himself, to straighten their backs and try to act more in line with what they've seen their elders do. Though Ghell thought they did a pretty good job, the subdued humor that he could see from the human female caused him to doubt his professionalism, though the other sanghelli did not comment to it.

The General stepped in front of the group and began speaking. "Greetings younglings, I am General Uull Jalamee. As of this day, each and everyone of you has spent a minimum of 2 years in training in the Common Rooms. Upon consideration with certain members of the Federation's Information Analysis Division, and the recommendation of the UNSC's Office of Naval Intelligence, you have been selected for a unique role, more unique than any other role you are likely to play."

Ghell's apprehension and excitement continued to rise steadily, though he was determined not to show it so as not to disappoint the General. Though Ghell admitted he did not know of this human office, he had learnt of the IAD several days ago while in class, and knew of their shadowy reputation. He assumed that the Office was the human version of the IAD, which admittedly made him somewhat apprehensive. He was still confused over what the General meant by a role to play, though he trusted the situation to clarify itself in time.

The General continued speaking, puffing his chest and speaking in a proud voice. "After consideration of your physical prowess, psychological profile, and other considerations. Each and everyone of you have been selected into a special program. This program is under extreme secrecy, and is not to be uttered to anyone else, with the punishment of loss of name and honor, followed by death."

Ghell's eyes widened at that. There were many punishments in sanghelli society, public shaming, physical punishment, temporary imprisonment, but he had _never_ heard about the taking of one's name. Of one's _Honor_! Followed by Death! Inconceivable! The loss of one's Honor meant that you were nothing but a craven San 'Shyuum, a liar and traitor. The taking of one's name meant that you never even _existed_, you never even _lived_! Your own parents would deny your existence, denied that they birthed you. Your friends would deny that they have ever seen, talked, or fought with you. Then with death...you would not have a chance to redeem yourself. No one would remember you, and anyone who did would remember you as a traitor to Sanghellios.

Ghell trembled as the General continued speaking. "You have all been inducted into the Spartan-IV program."

Ghell, his mind still trembling over the possible consequences of the punishment, took a full 5 seconds before it sank into his mind. He stared at the General blankly, until such joy erupted within him that it threatened to break his stoicism and it took all that he had not to immediately jump for joy. Taking a peek at his brothers, he could see them also visibly attempting to control their excitement, which made him worry about his own sense of control.

"However." The General continued, causing Ghell's mind to stop it's mental backflips. "There is something you must also know. Accepting this would mean hardship you have never felt before, and hardship you would likely be the first sanghelli to ever feel. Training beyond what we have given you. Alterations which will leave you broken for weeks. But in the end, you will emerge as the most powerful warriors in the face of this Galaxy. You will be the defenders of all the civilized races in this galaxy. You will defend us from annihilation. From your sacrifices, countless billions of beings will thank you."

"But we have no right to place this destiny upon your head. So I ask of you, those of you who wish to become Spartans, to step forward. Anyo-"

The rest of the General's speech was interrupted when 20 Sanghelli stepped forward in near unison. Ghell fancied that the General seemed somewhat surprised and pleased, though he could not understand the glare the human woman was directing at him.

"Thank You." The General continued, though Ghell had a near mind rending desire to thank _him_. "Now, before you go to your new homes and begin your training, I wish to introduce you to Elizabeth Halsey, who would like to speak a few words. You may know her as your commanding officer, and the architect of the creation of the Spartan Program."

At this, Ghell had an almost overwhelming sense of awe and respect towards the human woman. This woman had trained and created the Spartans, which meant that she was, undoubtedly, an immense warrior, but also knew each and every one of those Spartans, not by their deeds, but by their names and faces, which they showed to no one. Ghell felt overcome by a desire to impress the woman, an prove that he would be just like, and potentially better, than his predecessors.

stepped forward, slowly, as if she carried a great weight, and stood in front of the younglings. She began to speak, "As per Naval Code 1132002, you are all hereby conscripted into the joint ONI-IAD Special Project, codenamed Spartan-IV."

She continued speaking, though Ghell had a distinct feeling that she was struggling with something. The boy dismissed it as her feeling pride for them. No doubt it was the rare sanghelli that would be chosen to become a Spartan!

"You have been called upon to serve. You will be trained and...you will become the best we can make you. You will be the protectors of this Galaxy, and all the beings within it."

She stopped again, and Ghell stifled his growing feeling of impatience. This was important for some reason, though he could not understand why.

"Within 2 days, you will enter a classified IAD Installation, where you will meet with the rest of your fellow sanghelli Trainees. 18 hours after that, you will meet with your fellow human trainees in a classified ONI installation, where you will be trained under the supervision of both the IAD, and ONI... This path will be difficult, but I know you will all make it."

The woman nodded to the General, who barked a few orders to the surrounding Sanghelli. They were immediately led off the Common Rooms, undoubtedly ready to begin their new lives.

Even as excitement overtook him though, he had an urge to turn his head and look back at the doctor whose eyes were filled with sadness and doubt. But he didn't, it would be against the Sanghelli code, and he continued forward without looking back, though he felt that the rest of his brothers wanted to look back too.

* * *

**November 18, 2584**

**Location: Classified**

Lecter looked at his counterpart in the Federation's Information Analysis Division. While genetic engineering was not as popular or as wide spread in the now defunct Covenant when compared to the UNSC, though the Federation was starting to remedy that problem with some dabbling into genetic research, they still knew enough about Genetic Research that the search for Spartan candidates went easier than first expected.

Of course, considering that the genetic makeup of the sanghelli was completely different when compared to human DNA, modifications of the current formula to fit the sanghelli's were relatively simple. His counterpart did not question how ONI could have changed the formula to fit his own race. Which was completely acceptable with Lecter of course, no need to bring to light the few hundred or so sanghelli that they ripped open for study during the Great War. Nor were they supposed to know the extent of how much ONI knew about the genetic makeup of, not only the sanghelli, but the former covenant races as well. Not that Lecter was planning on massacring all of those species of course. What would the next batch of aliens say when they figure out that Humanity had cheerfully annihilated other alien civilizations? There was always the possibility that the next group would not have a conveniently placed societal weakness to exploit in the future. Nor was it a given that humanity would have technological superiority to the next batch. No, it was better to play nice with the aliens, no need to wipe out a portion of their population in an exercise of power and fear, that's how the idiotic ones die.

But to the matter at hand. The high rate of acceptable sanghelli spartan candidates means that, at the very least, they would outnumber the human candidates for a while. That was fine, seeing that, in a fight concerning a Sanghelli and a normal human, a normal human would die. It wouldn't be a necessarily bad thing for the Sanghelli to hold a majority, though there are things that humans were better at. Making decent coffee being one, but in a more battle orientated environment, humans have been known to keep their cool when a sanghelli would have long ago wished to enact vengeance upon a human for insulting his mother. Not that they were all like that, the Spec-Ops of the Federations IAD being cheerfully logical, but most of them placed so much emphasis on honor it was completely maddening.

Concerning the procedure itself, there may be some problems with the sanghelli, at least compared to the human batch. Not that ONI would purposefully damage their own assets, but ONI has not exactly been focusing on _preserving _life as soon as DNA samples of a hostile race were procured. ONI would simply have no way of performing the procedure upon the sanghelli without half a dozen deaths or so before the surgeons properly adapt their techniques. Sure there would be trial runs with sanghelli corpses, probably, but they would need to rely on actual experience for maximum efficiency. Not that that was a major problem, considering that every sanghelli child they had approached so far would squee in excitement about being a spartan. There would be no shortage of volunteers willing to take the procedure first, hell they probably didn't even need to lie to them about it. They'd probably see it as a badge of honor, dying so that one of their friends would survive due to their deaths. Idiotic fools...

All right, he really should be more honest with himself. Yes, the sanghelli are a bunch of honor bound proud warrior race idiots with a tendency to cry out in a blood rage once they get the smallest paper cut, but history has shown that honor itself was not a completely bad thing. Rome got along very well with honor, and warriors bound with honor and oaths to the state served very well to increase said state's life span, no matter what part of history you observe it in, or how morally questionable each state is. So, as long as their outlook served useful, he saw no reason to speak his thoughts out loud and cause a fuss. They are good, useful allies, so he saw no reason to alienate them, pun not withstanding.

Which leads to the unscheduled portion of the meeting. Lecter and his counterpart, a fine fellow named Ghech Hellamee, were in the bowels of the construct for a reason other than shepherding little children to become the little heroes of the galaxy. Not that the Spartan IV program was not important in the long run, but Lecter also preferred to set games in his favor so far in advance that whenever the opponent would get around to playing his game, they were already dead on arrival. His meeting with Halsey was an excellent example of that.

As it was, Ghech was busy reading through some status reports that ONI agents have on several groups of malcontents. A collection of aliens and humans, who seem particularly unpleased concerning several elements in the UNSC, Lecter in particular. They claimed that there was corruption in several sections of the Government in general but most particularly the UNSC, with the UEG being a close second. To be specific, they claimed that certain segments of the government had access to too much power, far above their actual duties. This was entirely true, and Lecter mused that the fact that they knew of this means that the original band of Insurrectionists, the ones who disappeared as soon as the Covenant had arrived, had returned. His predecessor may have once shrugged off the maneuverings of those fools and considered them irrelevant. But Lecter was no fool, he knew of their importance and sought to negate any threat they had to BERMUDA's success, and in fact manipulate them to assist in the project's overall success. With the conclusion of this meeting, he would be one step closer to achieving that goal.

Lecter cleared his throat, causing Ghech to look up in curiosity. "I'm curious Field Marshall, if you would indulge me questioning you. However, from what I understand of sanghelli biology, and the sanghelli's military ranking system, you were in the Pacification War correct? May I ask on which portion of the conflict did you first serve?"

Ghech looked at him for a moment and nodded. "I was there from the beginning, Rear Admiral. I was one of the first new batch of sanghelli to replenish the ranks after the Great Schism, and we were eager to redeem the honor of our race through battle. My first battle was against a small Jirilhanae outpost, far from my dreams of taking the battle to their home world, but an acceptable start. From there I was present each major stage of the conflict, from the liberation of Balaho, to the Fall of your Borealis, to the Shame that was Palamok."

Lecter noticed the peculiar phrasing and chose to use that. "The Shame that was Palamok? I was under the impression that, when your Imperial Admiral gave the order, and when most of the Fleet disobeyed, you convinced your Ship Master to carry out your orders to glass their population centers? The Glassing of Palamok was, indeed, a tragedy. However, your willingness to follow orders spurred the rest of the fleet to follow Imperial Admiral Lakan Vayalee's orders? Yet, if you forgive my presumption, you consider what happened to Palamok to be an atrocity, though you still helped carry it out? I'm sorry Field Marshall, but that seems entirely contradictory in my opinion."

For all practical purposes, Lecter would have expected a brawl with any other sanghelli, but Ghech was not like any other sanghelli, though he did seem somewhat angry at Lecter's words, considering that he could _see_ the Ghech's eyes narrow slightly at his words. Lecter for his part merely kept his cool, looking Ghech straight in the eye until the sanghelli's posture relaxed and gave the rough approximation of a smile.

"Truly Rear Admiral, you are a very strange human." Ghech said as he absentmindedly grabbed the hilt of the plasma rifle he left before he entered Lector's presence, though Lecter himself chose to see no deeper meaning within that. "Any other human, indeed, any other sanghelli would not dare say that to my face. Even then, when I was merely a Special Operations Officer, no one would would have dared, at least what they think, to insult my honor. So, due to that frank opinion, I will tell you the same thing I told Supreme Commander Vadumee when he questioned me."

"I told him that Palamok was a great shame because it could have been entirely avoided if certain aspects of the invasion had gone along without a hitch. If the infiltration team led by General Talliee assassinate the Prophet of Agreement had succeeded, there would have been no need for the blockade. Thus, the remains of the Loyalist Fleet would not divert themselves from the defense of Doisac to assault us. As it was, the news that your Supreme Commander had gathered all the ships he could in an attempt to assault Doisac while their numbers were weakened helped drain their numbers, as some attempted to return to their world to save the Prophet of Dissociation."

"Still, we were vastly outnumbered until reinforcements would arrive. The only sound tactical decision that justified the loss of more than half the Sanghelli Fleets was elimination of Palamok from the war. Which we did, completely. As it was, we lost half of our forces until reinforcements arrived, and the Yanme'e pleaded with us to stop the bombardment and handed over Agreement to us."

Lecter nodded, his thoughts in high gear with what the Field Marshall told him. "However, even with the losses that came with the battle of Palamok, the General's blunder gave the war to us early did it not? With a good portion of their defenses gone, the UNSC managed to kill Dissociation and their entire home fleet. The Fleet that stayed to engage you were inevitably destroyed by the rest of your fleet, and the forces rushing to return to Doisac were greeted only by a NOVA Mine. In the end, through that General's blunder, you could say that the entire war was brought to a much swifter conclusion."

Ghech nodded cautiously, "I suppose so Rear Admiral. Though I would choose to believe that the fate of an entire conflict could not be decided upon one man, this has been observed before."

Lecter nodded "Indeed, but reflecting upon the likes of General Talliee and Spartan-117 is not the reason I asked you this. Before I get to that however, I would like to ask you one last thing. Would you say however that, should the need arise again in the future, and you had to commit a great atrocity to save more lives, would you do so?"

Ghech stayed silent for a while, seemingly deep in thought until he broke the silence a full 2 minutes later. "When the Jirilhanae Fleet pulled out of slipspace to engage our fleet, we were only beginning to assault Palamok's defenses. Though we were outnumbered, our forces was experienced enough that, were it not for Palamok's orbital defenses, we would have been able to defeat the Jirilhanae with a little less than a third of our Fleet intact. As it was, we were caught in a crippling crossfire that would have destroyed us if Imperial Admiral Vayalee had not ordered us to assault Palamok's orbital defenses."

"When your Supreme Commander assaulted Doisac, a little more than half of their fleet was redirected by the Prophet of Dissociation to defend him, evidence again of the Prophet's own vile nature. When the rest of our Fleet had arrived and burnt what ships were still left to oppose us, Palamok's orbital defenses were already burning in their atmosphere."

"We demanded the Yanme'e to surrender, they refused. We attempted to infiltrate their hives to assassinate Agreement, they discovered and killed the strike team. We repeated this pattern many times, which led us absolutely nowhere. Ultimately, we abandoned such a solution and brought our Fleet to orbit, giving them one last chance to surrender and give us Agreement. They Refused."

"So we glassed the entire planet. Boiled away their atmosphere. Made it so that not even the smallest bacteria laid on the surface. Once the Glassing was accomplished, the entire planetary mass was cooked from the inside out."

"We understood the Yanme'e Lecter, we understood them very well because we were once in their position. We were there when we first came unto Palamok and gave them the choice of being enslaved or being annihilated. Their Queens were the only reason their race had lived for so long. They sacrificed their lives, for they knew that the Covenant would not let such influential leaders live, so that the rest of their species would survive. Though it was no fault of theirs, without the leadership of the Queens, they sought a new figure to treat as Queens. The San 'Shyuum."

"The Prophets were not the Queens of Old, they did not care for their subjects. They did not care that they sacrificed thousands of lives daily for their survival. All they cared about was themselves when they forced us to Glass Palamok. The most tragic portion of the war because, if the Arbiter had not exposed the lies of the Prophets, we would have shared their fate gladly."

"But you ask me whether I would have done it all again, and I do believe I would have done it all again. Their minds could not be changed, their natures could not be altered. They would have fought to the death to protect the Prophets, and they did. I will not say that, if I could do it all again, I would not have gone along with it, not have initiated the bombardment because that would be a tremendous insult to the few Yanme'e still alive. So yes Rear Admiral, I would choose to do it again. As is the burden being the Director of the IAD. Though I, as well as those who sent me, am not without curiosity Rear Admiral."

"We have observed that, when comparing the ONI of during the Covenant war, to the Pacification war, to the present, there has been a constant but slow increase in ONI's power, as well as certain other civilian companies and military factions. While this, in and of itself, is not particularly worrisome, there are certain information gathered that shed a worrying light towards your experiments, ranging from during, and even before ONI's foundation. While we feel no need to expose this to the public, I and my superiors wish to know your answer. Specifically concerning Operation: SHATTERED"

Lecter smiled at that, knowing that he had chosen correctly. "Of course Field Marshall, and I would be glad to explain it to you. However, our own reasons must be explained first and, I believe that they are somewhat complicated to explain without a proper understanding of how they came about. If you would indulge me a little longer, I could perhaps explain that to you first?"

The Field Marshall nodded his head, albeit cautiously. Lecter nodded and started speaking.

"It began, as it always does, with a differing opinion...

* * *

**UNSC Rapier Weapons System: Pre Publish copy**

Upon the advent of the Echelon series, and the immediate threat of the Pacification War, the demand for a next generation weapon system, for use aboard any future UNSC warship. The overall demand was that the new weapon system be able to be able to bypass or destroy conventional Covenant-Era energy shielding. While the Rapier Weapons System holds a high place among UNSC naval warfare and orbital defense, the weapons system was originally scheduled to be scrapped if not for the Borealis Incident.

After the public outcry for the Fall of Borealis, the Rapier Weapons System was brought to the public's eye as an attempt to show the public that a solution was being pursued. However, the Rapier System was never meant to see mass production. It was meant to be a publicity stunt, to increase funding for weapons research which would be directed to other, more seemingly practical weapon systems like the Archon Point Defense System, the Camera Offensive Laser System, and the MHE Superweapon. As quoted by Vice Admiral Novac Wesley, "The Rapier Weapons System is impressive, effective and terrifying for any enemy it is aimed at, but completely and utterly beyond our current capabilities to effectively mass produce."

The main theory for the Rapier Weapons System was a modified and highly technologically superior version of the Covenant's own Naval weapons system. The Covenant typically used an impractical method of heating plasma, causing opposing naval elements sufficient notice, and directing the discharged plasma with magnetic stabilizers, guiding the plasma to impact upon opposing naval elements with great accuracy, and inciting psychological fear into the opponent that the user was unbeatable. However, this mode of naval operations was deemed incompatible with current UNSC operations, though the technology itself was modified for the Rapier system.

UNSC scientists expanded upon the staple Covenant naval weapon with more advanced use of the magnetic stabilizers and a more efficient heating method for the plasma. The new method, pioneered by significant yet secret contributions from ONI, would insure the plasma be heated within 1-4 seconds, with no visible signs for an opposing fleet to guess when the weapon system would discharge. Coupled with that would be the magnetic stabilizers, engineered using designs from Concordia Industries, meant that an impressive amount of control could be emplaced upon the plasma discharge.

The main argument against the Rapier Weapon System was the stabilizers themselves. The entire concept of the Rapier system was correct, but could not be brought to reality because neither Covenant or UNSC technology could create a magnetic stabilizer strong enough to fulfill the full capability of the Rapier System's design. As such, the Admiralty considered the project to not be worth the considerable funds being directed to it. However, this situation was before the rediscovery of the Onyx Shield World.

With the discovery of the Onyx Shield World, and the library of technological data found within, the Rapier System was within reach of UNSC scientists. Under the observation of ONI, the stabilizer problem was solved by using those of the Forerunner, who had a similar weapons system which required considerable control as well. Upon the creation of the first prototype, which was attached to a UNSC Frigate in orbit around Pluto, the Rapier system was tested to it's full capabilities.

From the first test, it was clear that the magnetic stabilizers' potential went beyond the Rapier System itself. Complex plasma discharges, often crisscrossing and combining and breaking apart then reforming elsewhere, could be done effortlessly. A particularly innovative example was performed by Captain Jonathan Fernandez, who broke a single plasma ball several kilometers in diameter into numerous slivers of superheated plasma, which was then used to encircle and destroy the shielded target.

Additionally, there was the matter of power necessary to fire the weapon. Concordia Industries provided the solution, that of a dual plasma reactor system using Forerunner based engine systems. The first reactor would continually power the ship and it's engine and slip space drive, while the second reactor would power the Rapier system and, when required for an emergency or tactical superiority, the engine and slip space drive as well.

To protect the Reactors, a one meter shell of Forerunner based metal, codenamed 'Hephaestus', would be placed around the reactors. Testing with a sphere of this metal on October 13, 2592 was conducted on **[REDACTED]. **The sphere was targeted and hit with a round from a Magnetic Accelerator Cannon, which not only resulted in little to no visual damage, but also resulted in the survival of the 10inch glass representation of Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan 117, which was attached to the wall of the Sphere to insure it's destruction would come from the sheer force of the impact, and not from the figure repeatedly impacting the walls.

Lastly, the Dual Reactors served as a self destruct option in case the Anti-matter charges and/or the system's information has not been successfully purged. The Reactors would self destruct, destroying any sensitive information aboard the ship and any technology that could be reverse engineered. Depending upon the type of engine, an area of 1 square kilometer may be destroyed, along with 3 kilometer wide EMP effect, to an area of 50 million square kilometers destroyed, and an additional 100 million kilometers bathed in an EMP effect.

Currently, different versions exist for different classes of Starships, which is based upon the effectiveness of the Dual Reactors. While it is by no means a set standard, it is often granted that Frigates are given the standard Class 1 version, which was capable of discharging plasma three times and have complete control over one, to the Class 7 version capable of **[REDACTED]**, currently being developed in secret for the MONOLITH Project.

**ONI Section 5 Report: **Information edit complete. Any classified information concerning Concordia Industries has been purged from the system. Classified information concerning capabilities of Class 7 Dual Plasma Reactor purged from the system. Classified Information concerning the location of Station Irae has been purged from the System. Information Leak recovered and awaiting transport to Station Irae. All known contributors and sympathetic personnel within ONI has been identified. Information will be sent within 1 minute, 15 seconds. All known collaborators of Information Leak has either been administered with Class-A Amnesiacs or have been summarily Executed. Those that we have been unable to successfully remove from the database has been attributed to Insurrectionist movements. Personal opinion is that the **[REDACTED] **notices on the report be untouched in accordance with Special Order: 517.

* * *

**Authors Note:**

Considering the level of discipline evident in the Sanghelli, and the fact that they place honor above all, that they would have children who were considerably mature for their age, unlike their human counterparts.

Also, though UNSC tech may seem overpowered now, I intend for this story to be more than UNSC-Federation kick the Galactic Empire's ass. There's a reason it has the word Galactic there after all.

Lastly, I am sorry for the late update. My original copy was pretty much done on thursday, when I attempted to save it and the website so _gladly_ informed me that, due to me being logged of for more than 3 days, I had to log-in again. Deleting roughly 5000 words, around half of the stuff I had worked on. I took a brief sabbatical due to the sheer rage I felt just then and returned after taking a brief nap. So yeah.


	3. Insurrection: Part 1

**Disclaimer**: Both Halo and Star Wars franchises do not belong to me. The Halo series belongs to Bungie, or 343 Industries which Bungie created to take care of the Halo franchise. Star Wars belongs to Lucasarts in turn. Any other Franchise I will add to this story will also not be made by me, and I will acknowledge them in turn.

* * *

_'Regnat Populus'_

_'Let the People Rule'_

**December 18, 2584**

**Deep Space, Approximately 20 AU away from the New Babel Production Yards. **

**Battle Group Alpha Centauri**

8 UNSC Echelon III Destroyers, minimum of 1.75 meters of Titanium A armor and an average length of 513 meters. Armed with 3 Magnetic Accelerator Cannons, 5 Shiva-class Nuclear missles, 40 Archer Missile Pods, 12 50mm Dual Barreled Point Defense Guns, 5 Camera Long Range Laser Turrets.

7 UNSC Echelon III Halcyon-class Cruisers, minimum of 2 meters of Titanium A armor, factory approved length of 1.17 kilometers. Armed with 3 Magnetic Accelerator Cannon, 45 Archer Missile Pods, 15 50mm Dual Barreled Point Defense Guns, 7 Camera Long Range Laser Turrets.

5 UNSC Echelon III Marathon-class Cruisers, minimum of 230cm of Titanium A armor, 1190 meters in length and varying degrees of height and width. Armed with 4 Magnetic Accelerator Cannons, 50 Oversized Archer Missile Pods with 70 missiles each, 20 50mm Point Defense Guns, 7 Shiva-class Nuclear Missiles, 6 Camera Long Range Laser Turrets, 5 Twin Defense Rail Guns Turrets.

15 UNSC Echelon II Frigates, minimum of 80 centimeters of Titanium A armor with an average length of 500 meters, width of 160, and an average height of 110 meters. 2 Magnetic Accelerator Cannons, 40 Archer Missile Pods, 15 Point Defense Guns, 6 Twin Defense Rail Gun turrets.

5 CCS Class Covenant-era Battlecruisers,

Rear Admiral Abigail Lesley watched as the motley fleet representing the entire naval force of the Centauri Insurgents assembled to initiate the largest Naval Battle that her Insurgents had ever waged. It had taken her the better part of a year, but her request to act upon their knowledge and destroy the New Babel Production Yards had been authorized by her superiors.

New Babel. One of the first experimental Human-Alien colonies ever made. Human and Alien populations had been heavily hit in both the Great War and the Pacification War, with Humanity losing more in the Great War and the Aliens as a whole losing much during the Pacification War. As an experiment, they created a number of colonies, with a mix of all species, to interact and observe the inhabitants. While most were secret, with the total number of colonies never mentioned in any civilian or military database, there were some better known.

New Babel was the most visible of them all, the only one in fact that ONI and the IAD allowed to be made publicly known in fact. While the vast majority of the colonies enjoyed secrecy, with coordinates being jealously guarded in case of a band of Insurrectionist attack on a colony, New Babel was different in that it had more defenses than a civilian target should, not including the Production Yard's own. 35 million inhabitants of varied species protected by the combined arms of Federation and UNSC technology.

Which brought Lesley to the reason her Fleet was there in the first place. The New Babel Production Yards was, like all the other Production Yards, belching out a multitude of ships every day. While the rate had been large, justified in that the UNSC and Federation were rapidly expanding, with the need for ships to defend the new colonies, there had been changes recently. Warship production had increased to near Great War era rate production, with a Production Yard like New Babel producing 6 Destroyers every 15 days. If not for the fact that Onyx continued to build civilian ships, and that the Federation were producing ships at the same rate, she was positive that there would be a war coming. Unfortunately, considering the fact that neither the Federation or the UNSC, publicly, wanted another war, the increase in weapon production would be seen as odd.

So, as soon as the opportunity presented itself, she had asked to bring her Fleet towards New Babel and blow their Production Yards out of the sky. J=Her reasons for doing so were logical enough. They were evidently preparing for something, and whatever their reasons may be, it would be huge. The New Babel Yards would contain a list of the locations of all Production Yards and it's defenses, and while defenses could be upgraded, factories designed to sit down and create ships couldn't be moved. Which meant that, if the raid was successful, then they could move against the Federation and the UNSC whenever they pleased.

At the same time however, it would show their reasons for the build up. There was a very, very good chance that they would set their arms towards the Insurrection and wipe us off the face of the galaxy, that was the popular belief for the build up after all. If, after the raid, they declare war and act, then they already knew what they were planning, their plan would only be disrupted by the attack? Better to goad them into action now than to wait until they were better armed, better trained, and outnumbered them 20:1. The added bait of taking any ships still in dry dock was a nice bonus as well, though they would have to be scanned for any bugs.

In any case, if they did declare war, and hunted enough of the Insurrection down that the public conscience would be swayed and then leave them be, or rather, they didn't bring the full force of their Fleets to bare then they were up to something weren't they? It would be something the Federation and the UNSC would both be in on as well, since the Production Yards are both, technically, theirs. Even then, there would likely be civilian casualties, impossible to not have any in an operation of this scale, which would enrage the Federation if nothing else. She knew better than to expect moral outrage from the UNSC.

This observation allowed her to pull through with her Raid and, looking at the papers in front of her, she felt very justified.

**New Babel Defensive Fleet**

7 UNSC Echelon III Halcyon Class Cruisers, unknown armament and munitions

3 Orbital Defense Platforms 2 operational, one damaged and undergoing heavy repairs, unknown armament and munitions

8 UNSC Echelon III Frigates, unknown armament and munitions

6 UNSC Echelon III Marathon Class Cruisers, unknown armament and munitions

All things considering, Lesley was positive this was a trap. Decades ago, this force might have been more than enough to defend an Inner Colony, but with the rate of ships all the Production Yards were pumping out and also taking into account how heavily armed New Babel was supposed to be, this was the equivalent of a very heavily armed scouting expedition.

This leads to two possibilities, neither of them pleasant.

Number one, there were expecting the attack on New Babel, either at it's Yards or the civilian population itself. In which case, several minutes after they exit slipspace, a fully armed fleet of UNSC-Federation ships would break out of hiding, defeat her ships or drive them off, and do one of two things. Either use it as an excuse to level the formidable UNSC and Federation forces at the Insurrectionists, or use the attack to justify the massive build up of arms and crank it up even more. Probably both at the same time.

Number two, they know of the attack on New Babel, and are doing nothing to stop it. Admittedly, that would be the more logical decision. People would wonder why a very heavily armed fleet of Humans and Aliens not only fight off a prepared force of Insurrectionist ships, but suffered few enough loses and arrived at _exaxtly_ the right time before they did any damage. However, lack of opposition would spark questions as well, namely why wasn't the most heavily defended interspecies colony being properly defended.

The situation was exasperated by the fact that, from what she knew of Operation: Mutual Understanding, it was being observed by both the Office of Naval Intelligence, and the Federation's Information Analysis Division. While she had no real opinion of the IAD, she knew ONI. Despite their many, many faults, they weren't ineffective or lazy. If one of their Projects was left so lightly defended like this, then it was _supposed_ to be that way.

The end result of her musing being that, she knew there was a trap, she just didn't know what and why.

Lesley breathed slowly, thanking the fact that she had revitalized the ship with new air tanks when they were last at a Insurrectionist Stronghold. Well, the why wasn't that difficult really. If she ordered her fleet to move, and she succeeded or failed in destroying the yards, her actions would be used to justify something. Whether it was a war with the Insurrection, or something else, was completely unknown at this point. But it was there.

Abigail Lesley did not consider herself a traitor or a terrorist, only one who did things out of necessity, as her time justifying herself while in the employ of ONI would constantly remind herself off. She had no issue with Humanity's alliance with the aliens, though a good portion of the military did, and the more outspoken ones were all subsequently given honorable discharges. She had no issue with the politics, or the cuisine or the scary alien-human porn being slowly brought to the public conscience, though Lesley could not understand how a Mgalekgolo and a Human could...No, best not to think about that while the operation was so close at hand.

No, her main issue was with ONI itself. She had no issues with ONI during the Great War, even if she had significant concerns with the lows ONI was willing to go, she knew that it was for Humanity's survival. At the very least, it helped her sleep at night. She served Humanity, the UNSC, and ONI faithfully and unquestioningly for more than 30 years. Every act and decision she made was, in the end, for the betterment of the whole, for the betterment of Humanity.

After New Mombassa though, everything started to fall apart. The Covenant had streamed in and started interrogating humans, Colonel Ackerson was one of them, she had heard. Lasted for quite a long time too, if the lacerations on his body where any indication. ONI Installations were glassed from orbit, and those that weren't were also interrogated by the Covenant. By the time it was over, very few people were left in ONI. Lecter was one of them and, being the senior after the UNSC _Point of No Return_ was destroyed when five CCS Battlecruisers located the ship. With the death of Admiral Parangosky, Lecter took control of ONI.

But, in the entire purge, she realized something. A large portion of ONI personnel that perished would, one way or another, had been in the way of a peaceful coexistence with the Federation. It wasn't a sure thing, and there were still a fair amount of ONI personnel that survived that still hated the Covenant, they refused to see them as the Federation, but the ones who could make any sort of influence within ONI died. While she was very deeply disturbed of this, she justified it again. They would only have made an unneeded fuss in the post war era, better to take them down now than disrupt the peace. So she kept quiet, and worked with Lecter as head of Section 1.

After that, ONI began to grow more and more powerful. Gaining more influence in the military and civilian sectors, becoming the brain of the Navy, no longer the eyes. It had all the makings of an especially well planned coup. If not for the fact that ONI still held onto the original goal, the safety and dominance of Humanity, Lesley would have left long ago. As it was, they continued to insure Humanity's continuing ascension, the rediscovery of Onyx, the creation of the Necropolis Class Battlecruisers, Forerunner derived technology being adapted into every aspect of Humanity. ONI kept watch of it all, and dealt with those who wished to keep the technology to themselves or suppress it all together, even those within ONI itself, severely.

But the Pacification War took all of that out of her. ONI did not interfere until it was most advantageous to do so, the Fall of Borealis was not the first major strike by the Covenant, merely the only one ONI let slip. After that, the half dozen or so attacks on UNSC colony ships were made public, forcing the UNSC into joining the war. Even then, UNSC forces only assisted the Federation when it was most needed, which was fine with the Sanghelli anyway. But the Pacification War led to ONI successfully taking control of Delta Halo, and with that, the rest of the Halo Arrays as well.

After that, the UNSC only really began fighting. Using the newly made Necropolis Battlecruisers to destroy key Covenant outposts, the Fleet liberating the Mgalekgolo Home world and dealing with the pirating Kig Yar by nuking half of their home system before they surrendered, as retribution for Borealis. By then Doisac had been glassed, and the Jirilhanae officially surrendered to the UNSC and the Federation. ONI began taking care of the defeated races, indoctrinating into them the guilt that the Great War and the Pacification War was there fault. To insure a future uprising by the Jirilhanae never occur again.

While each one would not shake her, the sheer number of ONI's actions caused her to defect at the end of the Pacification War. She took command of a group of discharged UNSC personnel, all of whom hated the Covenant's guts, met up with the Insurrection and, as they say, the rest was history.

Well, not exactly as easy as that. There were multiple Insurrectionist Leaders rightfully suspicious of an ONI defector, due to the fact that most genuine defectors would have been caught and executed by ONI itself and any further defectors would be an ONI spy. While the mistrust had minimized to a certain degree, there were still some who outright hated her. Some because she was from ONI, but most because she wouldn't be party to any attempt at leading a holocaust against the Federation, or the Covenant, as they were so keen in correcting her. To punish the humans who seemed to have forgiven the aliens who slaughtered the vast majority of Humanity's population. In any case, they were irrelevant to the current mission.

Her forces consisted mainly of former UNSC soldiers and Navy Personnel. The vast majority of them had defected due to the Federation and the fact it was not dead yet. However, that was the only reason they had defected from the UNSC. They did not conduct raids against UNSC convoys or assault human bases, as the rest of the insurrection have a habit of doing. In fact, they seemed to loathe the rest of the Insurrection, hiding from the Covenant when they burnt world after world while their friends fought and died to insure Humanity would live.

Their opinion of her however, was a lot more unclear. On the one hand, having been part of the UNSC, they had decided to go along with following her, figuring she knew what she was doing. On the other hand, they were puzzled and angry that she didn't want to cause massive deaths to the 'Covenant' her forces originating from the Army was particularly bad at this, and they have had arguments about this. But in the end, when forced to decide who to follow, they chose her.

So she looked at her Destroyers, the most important, and most dangerous, portion of this operation relied on them. It required obedience to the plan, and she would force no one to carry it out. As it turned out, a portion of her Commanders had accepted it, for which she very much grateful. Their sacrifice would insure the Insurrection win the battle with minimum casualties.

Lesley checked herself. Sacrifices for the greater good was what ONI did, and she was no longer part of that. These sorts of tactics could no longer be used anymore, no one would follow her if she led them all to their deaths. She gave the order.

* * *

The Destroyers moved quickly, five exiting real space fifty kilometers near one of the Orbital Defense Platforms. The Destroyers proceeded according to plan, firing MAC guns directly into the center of the formidable space station before it had time to react. MAC rounds, Cameral laser systems, and Archer missile pods from five ships focused their fire on a single object and cut through it's shields from the sheer firepower focused on it, shattering the Defense Platform in 6 seconds.

The UNSC forces reacted quickly, with four of the Halcyon Cruisers moving to intercept the Destroyers before it could attempt to make a jump to either escape, or cause more damage than they already had. The other three moved towards the damaged Platform, defending it in case any attempt to destroy it is made. Four of the Marathon Cruisers jumped to reinforce the Halcyon Cruisers assaulting the Destroyers, while the other two remained with the Frigates to protect the Production Yards.

The Insurrectionist and UNSC forces clashed, with the UNSC forces attempting to take advantage of their superior numbers to envelop the Destroyers in a devastating crossfire as they circled them from all sides and focused fire on two Destroyers. In any other scenario, an Echelon III Destroyer's shield would be capable enough to go toe to toe with a Covenant Frigate and win with acceptable structural damage, but with the combined might of four UNSC ships with the same classification, the shielding meant nothing. MAC Rounds pulverized the shields, even as sapphire Camera Lasers carved it's armor to pieces and Archer missiles destroyed multiple sections of the ships which weren't destroyed yet. The pair of Destroyer stood against the onslaught for 7 seconds before fracturing into hundreds of burnt pieces.

The remaining Destroyers initiated micro-slipspace jumps while their comrades died from UNSC fire, with 2 moving towards the Halcyon defended Platform while the lone Destroyer jumped directly towards the other platform, exiting inside their shields and crashing into the station as they exited slipspace, and detonated their Shiva Nuclear missiles. The resulting nuclear explosion was partially contained within the station's energy shield, but the sheer power of 5 Shiva missiles brutally tore the shield apart and escaped to the surrounding ships. The Electromagnetic Pulse emanating from the nuclear warheads disabled the shields and engines of every ship around the fallen ODP. A combination of the Nuclear fallout and shattered remains of the Defense Platform destroyed three frigates, and caused significant damage to the ships that remained.

The last two Destroyers were immediately fired upon by the three Halcyon Cruisers as they appeared directly in front of the UNSC force. Using their mass and energy shielding to block any attempts to counter, and after using their Camera Lasers to force the damaged station's near non-existent energy shield to fail, the Destroyers sent dozens of Dropships into the station to take it for the Insurrection. The Platform's point defense system failed to destroy all of the dropships, with one in every 3 successfully landing and deploying their forces, some by immediately crashing into open airlocks and deploying their forces as quickly as they could force their way out.

18.782 seconds after the Destroyers had appeared 12 kilometers away from the Platform, incredibly dangerous distances for space travel, the Destroyers were successfully eliminated, with portions of their infrastructure impacting the Defense Platform and killing those Insurgents still top side. Even then, more than two hundred soldiers, engineers and scientists managed to successfully enter and engage UNSC forces within the Platform.

Before any other UNSC ships could bring in reinforcements to the assaulted Platform or destroy it all together, the rest of the Insurrectionist forces arrived.

* * *

_Any Second now..._

Lesley deployed her ships to secure the shattered remains of UNSC resistance. Most of the EMP'd ships would be useless to the Insurrection, so if they failed to surrender they would have to be destroyed. No use letting the UNSC analyze the tactics that occured here and trace it back to one of their own, as much of her personal data she had managed to erase when she left, she couldn't erase all of it.

Her CCS Battlecruisers appeared right next to the Marathon Cruisers, along with the three remaining Destroyers she had at her disposal. The Battlecruisers fired their weapons at the Cruisers, superheated plasma piercing the shields and cutting the ships with surgical precision. The other Destroyers focused fire with their MAC guns and Lesley found time to thank the Federation for upgrading their plasma heating methods. That portion of the operation succeeded easily enough.

On the other hand, the Production Yards were still heavily defended, with two Marathon Cruisers and eight Frigates defending the Yards. They were formed into a close ball, focusing on protecting the Production Yards as much as possible, specifically the control center and Communications array while leaving other sectors well enough alone. The current angle of the Yards would enable her to get her forces into the Yards, but it was probably filled to the brim with UNSC soldiers ready to fire a large amount of bullets into the Insurrectionist force that killed most of their friends.

Whoever was in command of the remaining defenders was intelligent enough to know why she was here. Five Destroyers would have been more than enough to destroy the Production Yards, even one was enough, if the opponent was willing to use that suicidal attack again. The fact that they didn't, likely meant that they wanted something from the Production Yards. Considering that they were protecting the Control Center and the Comms Array meant that they were attempting to signal reinforcements, and likely delete the entire Yard's database. If it was ships she was after, her opponent would reason, they wouldn't have enough time to safely take the ships and defeat his forces without UNSC reinforcements to arrive.

Which was very much true. They couldn't use the precision micro-slipspace jumps again, they would be watching for any slipspace ruptures and a competent AI could bring the Station's defenses to bare. The only reason it had worked earlier was the element of surprise, and that they didn't think a Destroyer could manage another slipspace jump so close to a previous one.

Using conventional tactics, even the Frigates would take considerable effort to remove, 10 to 15 minutes maybe. The Marathon Cruisers could simply retreat and, while her forces were downloading the necessary files, return and employ hit and run tactics. Even if they didn't, it would take 3 minutes to destory them while insuring minimal damage to the station. She was still aiming to take some of the ships still in dry dock.

All in all, it would take an actual UNSC Fleet at least 15 to 30 minutes to respond to a high priority distress call. Considering this was probably an ONI trap, 15 minutes would be all the time she had to complete the mission. At the same time, it had been roughly 3 minutes since her Destroyers had sacrificed themselves, so they only had 12 minutes left. Lovely.

As she was wracking her brains, trying to figure out a method to crack their defenses open, a message appeared on her command console's display. Text only.

_"Hello? This is the commander of that Insurrectionist Fleet outside right?"_

* * *

The entire control center of Orbital Defense Platform _Splinter in the Eye_ was under siege.

Heavy blast doors could be seen cracking from the charges Insurrectionist forces had placed to blow the door down, with little success. Navy Personnel moved to and fro, attempting to initiate the Cole protocol before their assailants could get to them. Armed Marines attempted to fortify their defensive positions with whatever they could find, getting in the way of the Navy personnel just like the Navy Personnel accidentally interfered with the Cole Protocol. All in all though, the UNSC personnel kept their cool, making steady head way into both fortifying the Control center, and initiating the Cole Protocol before the blast doors, for lack of a better term, exploded.

Men in grey armor moved in, they masked their entrance with a combination of Frag, Smoke, and Flash grenades, rushing in between the cracks of the UNSC defensive line to take advantage of their weaknesses. 7.62x51mm Full Metal jacket rounds were fired in distances of less than 5 feet, splattering the flesh and bone of both Marines and Navy personnel indiscriminately. Knives, painted black to insure effectiveness in night operations, stabbed those still alive after the initial wave of fire.

A Navy man, white suit covered in blood, attempted to type in the last few commands necessary to complete the Cole Protocol as he lay on the command console bleeding to death. He was cut down by MA5C fire before he could type in a single letter. The man who killed him pulled him down from the console and fired two more rounds at his head with an M6G. Another person, a Marine, brought his BR55 Battle Rifle towards the Insurrectionists before 30 5x23mm M443 Caseless Full Metal jacket rounds tore him apart, leaving nothing but a stain on the wall. 15 seconds after they breached the blast doors, the Control Room of the last remaining ODP in and around New Eden belonged to the Insurrection.

A grey armored figure stepped onto the Command console and typed in several commands. Abruptly, the station began to move off course from it's orbit around the Production Yards, moving it's Super Mac gun away from the battle and remove any threat it could pose to the Insurrectionist Fleet. After typing in a few more commands, he left the room, and brought the rest of his men with him.

They left behind nothing remotely alive.

* * *

Lesley blinked, looking at the message in a kind of stupefied trance. Her crew didn't say anything, mainly because they were still busy sending out orders to consolidate control over ODP and aim our forces at the Yards, but they would eventually.

_"Hellllloooooo?"_

In any case, whoever this person was, he was willing to talk to the Insurrection, which might make her job easier in taking the Yards. So she typed back.

_"Yes. This is the Commander of the Insurrectionist Fleet, and who might you be?"_

_"Ah. Very good. Now, would you mind telling me why you went and destroyed my ships Commander?"_

Lesley's body immediately stiffened. Her contacts had assured her that there was no significant tactical mind to lop off during the first strike. Standard procedure for her was an overwhelming strike to disable base defenses and her tactical counterpart, then lead the rest of her Fleet to mop up the mess. This had proved to be very much effective in her time in both the UNSC, and the Insurrection. The survival of her counterpart was not a good sign.

In any case, it was likely her counterpart was stalling for time. The longer he could drag this out, the better his chances would be that a UNSC Fleet would come to liberate him from his predicament.

An EMP would eliminate the threat the UNSC ships would represent, but the pulse would likely wipe any data from the Yards as well. A comprehensive tactical victory would be impossible with the time frame she had to work with, as well as the fact that a MAC round could be fired at the Yards at any time by her counterpart's force to deny her victory. At the same time however, the Yards was the only thing protecting him from being sledgehammered by her superior numbers. Which meant that, should they fire at the Yards, they had to move quickly before her own forces bathe them in MAC rounds and Cam lasers.

So a task force being sent in to recover the Base would really be the best option she had. Conventional tactics were useless. Her previous tactics would likely be countered. She couldn't destroy the Yards, but her opponent won't destroy the Yards unless a successful retreat is guaranteed. So a strike team is the only thing that she could think of.

Lesley sighed in frustration and gave the order, which her men transmitted to the Marathon-Class Cruiser _Benevolence_. She glanced at her command console and noted that her strike team had successfully taken the Orbital Defense Platform. Good to know, and would likely distract the UNSC Fleet, but would hardly change anything in the scenario except add more firepower, which was not something she needed right now.

She was going to kill whoever didn't give the proper information about the base's command structure.

So all that remained was to wait, and hope that her Strike Team could accomplish the task. Well, not that she thought about it, there was something she could do as well.

* * *

The closest ship to the Production Yards was a Frigate. It was neither brand new or decrepit, heavily armed or a lightly defended carriage. It just seemed like a perfectly normal Frigate that would neither excel in space combat, or be particularly bad at it either.

A Pelican separated itself from the Frigate, turning once to catch it's bearings as it moved as stealthily as it could towards the Production Yards. The Pelican was painted black, almost like ONI prowlers, as it snaked it's way in to within a quarter of a kilometer or so of the Production Yards. Depressurization could be heard as a ramp fell and, one by one, figures jumped towards the Production Yard. As soon as the last man had jumped, the Pelican closed it's ramp and returned to the Frigate.

On the other hand, the ten figures that had jumped off of the Frigate took several minutes to find a way inside, finally deciding on using an airlock. Once that was decided upon, it took only a minute for all 10 figures to have safely found their way inside the Production Yards, their weapons still safe and usable after their exposure to the vacuum of space.

A man in black combat armor, unlike his companions who only had grey-black armor, spoke into his comm unit. "Entry into New Eden Production Yards accomplished Control. Omicron-Delta-Sigma-Tau Insertion Group has suffered no casualties. Request permission to ditch the stupid call sign and return the original sir."

A moment of silence.

"Yes sir, just requesting permission sir. Yes sir, we'll be on it. ODST Insertion Group out."

* * *

_"It's not very polite to start a conversation without telling you counterpart your name you know." _

_"Hmm... you have a point there sir or madam, but most polite gentleman or lady wouldn't blow up 11 of my ships, 2 of my Orbital Defense Platforms, and take one of them over. So, while your point is a valid one, I'm afraid that you are even more impolite than me. Additionally, I did not send the crews of 5 of my ships to their deaths, though that was a very, very good tactic if I might say so myself."_

Lesley frowned, concerned at who she was talking to now. Most commanding officers, when faced with the loss of more than half their tactical assets, wouldn't be so genial as this. Unless he was being a smart ass, which was quite possible. She needed to know more.

_"I concede the point, whomever you may be. But I can't go and say the purpose of my being here without gaining something in return right? So how about you tell me who you are, and I tell you either who I am, or what I'm doing here."_

_"Hmm. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you who I am madam. While I do not know why you are here, I can guess that it has something to do with these shipyards. The fact that we have not exploded as of yet means that the Production Yards holds something of interest for you. So I believe it is in my best interest for you not to get it."_

Lesley grimaced as she replied _"Really now?"_

_"Yes madam."_

She honestly couldn't decide if her Counterpart was toying with her, or if he was actually so damnably polite. Either way, he was focusing his attention on her, enough time for her ODST to infiltrate the Yards.

_"If not that then, what will we discuss?"_

_"Well...I would like to discuss who you are madam. I know of many, many Insurrectionist leaders, you are...special. Judging from the fact you used micro-slipspace jumps as your opening move, you would have either been a particularly innovative Commander, or part of the Pacification War, at least as long until the Necropolis Battlecruisers were pushed into service. Either option is valid in it's own way."_

She froze. This was bad. Very bad. She replied somewhat hastily _"Why would you want to know who I am?"_

_"Well, you seem to be a particularly adept Commander. An Insurrectionist Commander would have used more, conventional, tactics to destroy my forces. Conventional for the Insurrection relying heavily on deception I must admit, but conventional nonetheless. The strain on your Destroyer's engines must have been considerably close to meltdown, since I doubt your ships have the necessary engines part things to initiate multiple jumps."_

_"What if I do have those parts then? If I do have access to highly classified engines."_

_"Well then, you'd be more technologically advanced than the UNSC as of this moment. Since we, as of now, haven't managed to puzzle out creating a Slispspace engine for the Echelon ships."_

Lesley cursed to herself, realizing she was being played with by this damn bastard. More text appeared on the screen.

_"In any case, you have been a lovely correspondent. So I believe I will give you a bit of a hint."_

_"In approximately 3 minutes, a joint UNSC-Federation Battle Group will arrive to take back the New Babel Ship Yards. Their numbers are, and trust me on this, quite superior to your own. 3:1 maybe. Or 4:1. I can't say, I'm not as good with math as my siblings. Suffice to say, they are quite pissed at you. They had to separate from a larger, UNSC and Federation Fleet that was currently on it's way to the Inner Core protecting some diplomat. You have extraordinarily bad timing."_

What?

_"Well, if you don't believe me, then that's no problem with me. It would be your fault you sent the rest of your men to your death not mine madam."_

_...Shit._

* * *

**ONI-IAD Relations**

With the formation of the Federation of Allied Races following the conclusion of the Pacification War, a need for a department to handle Intelligence matters for the fledgling alliance. Using the Office of Naval Intelligence as a guide, the Council of Representatives authorized the creation of the Federation's Information Analysis Division, or the IAD for short.

In December 18, 2561 the first scheduled meeting of the UNSC's and Federation's own respective Information branches was held on the Federation Military Base_Monument of Agreement_ in orbit around Sanghellios. The meeting was attended by IAD representative Field Master Hellamee and ONI's head of Section 5 Captain Lecter to convene of what is to be done with the survivors and equipment of the _Fleet of Divine Vengeance_, a Covenant Loyalist Fleet responsible for such atrocities as the Fall of Borealis, the attempted Glassing of Sanghellios, Earth, Reach and Te, with the last losing a third of it's landmass before a Sanghelli Battle Group can interfere.

The result was the execution of 95% of the Fleet's surviving personnel, with the remainder discreetly given handed to ONI to probe their minds for any information that could be of use. The equipment, roughly 15 ships of varying condition ranging from pristine to derelict, were handed to the IAD while analysis of the ships would be handed to ONI. The meeting over, both ONI and the IAD moved sufficient funds for the UNSC and Federation Courts to handle the fate of the prisoners as stated, while the IAD took over Fleet operations concerning the _Fleet of Divine Vengeance_ which was later renamed to the _Fleet of Pragmatic Victory._

Relations between ONI and the IAD were relatively friendly, with Field Master Hellamee and Captain Lecter being noted acquaintances. Multiple joint operations between both Information Agencies were conducted. Espionage, counter-espionage, propaganda, assassinations, etc. were common, and both Agencies were considering future endeavors when Grey Team was recovered.

Immediately following the Prowler falling into ONI hands, a complete information blackout was internally announced. All attempts by the IAD to request information updates were denied for several weeks following the Prowler's recovery, and certain members of the IAD were beginning to prepare themselves for an assault from ONI when, in November 10, 2584, they disclosed the full contents of the info Grey Team discovered, as well as information regarding Operation: BERMUDA.

Several days later, after much debate by the numerous Offices of the Federation, Operation: BERMUDA was accepted with several significant changes. These changes, the inclusion of the Federation's armed forces during the Scouting and Invasion Phase, the IAD's involvement with ONI in preparing for BERMUDA, and other changes, were put in place in case ONI would use BERMUDA as a stepping stone to dominate the Federation. These changes were accepted by ONI.

Currently, while both Factions are currently cooperating with each other, there is an undercurrent of distrust within all ONI-IAD dealings. Lately however, tensions has decreased, assisted by the Spartan-IV's inclusion of the Sanghellis.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

This chapter took me three drafts, all of which were near completion. This Chapter was supposed to be longer but I decided it easily go beyond Ten thousand if I did.

Space Tactics was a bitch to research for by the way.

Special thanks to all of those who reviewed my story and find it awesome or lacking, I appreciate your views as long as they are reasonable. A very special thanks goes to HolyKnight5 who seems to like to spar ideas with me from time to time.


	4. Insurrection: Pt2: 23rd Consideration

Disclaimer: Both Halo and Star Wars franchises do not belong to me. The Halo series belongs to Bungie, or 343 Industries which Bungie created to take care of the Halo franchise. Star Wars belongs to Lucasarts in turn. Any other Franchise I will add to this story will also not be made by me, and I will acknowledge them in turn.

Advanced Note: Due to the fact that this chapter reached 10,000 words, I decided to divide them into two chapters. Naturally, I chose the one that would make the best cliffhanger. Enjoy. The next chapter will be posted within the day or so.

Updated Note: I have now changed the original MAC yields from their Halopedia selves, to their Halo Encyclopedia selves. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Updated Updated Note: Ignore the last one. Everything back to normal.

* * *

**"Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum videtur"**

"_Anything said in Latin sounds profound"_

New Babel was, for all intents and purposes, one of the more lucky colonies the UNSC still had. During the Great War, the Beta Centauri system was never found by the Covenant, so it was continued it's existance unhindered, exporting goods and very nice vintage wine to the rest of the surviving human colonies. The Pacification War also went by without the Jirilhanae fighting them, due to the near zero amount of tactical benefit to be had and the fact that it was too isolated to act as a demonstration of Jirilhanae supremacy. Which, some have said, insured the war went on longer than it should have. Every ship captain that found their supply of fine vintage red wine cut off would have fought with the determination of demons to make the Jirilhanae pay for their transgression. Double for the Admirals.

In any case, New Babel was selected by the Humint Institute of Psychology to embark upon their most ambitious experiment yet. It would be one of 7 planets to become a mixed species colony, both an example to both the UNSC and the Federation that the past could be successfully buried, and an experiment to see how large populations of mixed species interact.

The reasoning for New Babel was easy enough. It was isolated, and had never met and Alien Fleet that attempted to glass it from either the Great War, or the Pacification War. As such, the only knowledge the inhabitants had of the Covenant was the numbers of dead, and the occasional picture or video that went pass the ONI censors. Even then however, Humint agreed that the human mind simply could not grasp 23 billion people dead. It was too large for a human being to comprehend. Sure, some people might say that was horrible with tears in their eyes but, precious few would feel enough that they would have too severe a reaction against any species introduced.

Even if that wasn't true, the fact still remained that it was one of the few planets never to have even _seen_ a Covenant battleship in the sky. It was the most objective test they were liable to get. Even with a good portion of the new generation being raised to have hated the Covenant. Still, if they were introduced, it was liable that they would simply split into two groups and barely communicate with each other, one because of pre established prejudices, and one because they were shunned by humanity, and knew they deserved it. Which was not something Humint wanted.

So, at the beginning of the experiment on 2578, Humint decided to act on it. As sociologists had proven centuries ago, the thing required for two groups to cooperate was a common foe. So they deliberately insured New Babel's location was leaked to the Extremist Factions of the Insurrection, insured the colony was at least somewhat defended, and watched what happened.

It worked like a charm.

Humans raised to loathe the sanghelli turned their backs on them in trust to help protect their world. sanghelli, having been insulted and scorned by the humans, assisted them in the rebuilding of the infrastructure damaged in the assault. unggoy, mocked both secretly and openly by human children, helped those children when they were injured or entertained them. Kig-Yar, long loathing both humans and sanghelli, helped locate survivors in the wreckage with their eyesight and fought along side their former foes. On and on, the examples continued which, though the Humint researchers would never say too each other, did give them some amount of pride and joy.

So they properly defended the colony after the first few attacks, and every subsequent assault was destroyed by a combination of precise plasma fire, and MAC rounds. The peace from the Insurrectionist attack were still there, and so the experiment continued.

Admittedly, that tactic could not apply to the other six hidden worlds, but ONI found a way around that.

So the Defense Fleet stayed over New Babel and protected it from all attacks, until one morning on December 17 they left the planet to it's own defenses, and the newly arrived mobile Production Yard that visited as well.

The result, as ONI's current administrator would say, was all too predictable.

20,000 kilometers out of the planet's orbit was the New Babel Production Yards. The Yards, with a length of 10 kilometers and a width of 3.74km, was a monument to UNSC and Federation technology, capable of pumping out 6 Echelon III Destroyers every 15 days. In stationary orbit around the yards were three Orbital Defense Platforms, armed with Super MAC guns that could fire off 3000 ton hyper dense slugs at a little less than half the speed of light. Orbiting around them were the New Babel Defensive Fleet, handpicked by it's current Commander for the task. That was 20 minutes ago

Now the yards were surrounded by the remains of the UNSC Defensive Force assigned to New Babel. 10 ships concentrated their forces around the Yards, taking advantage of their opponents unwillingness to fire upon them by gathering around the communications and control center. Around them, watching for any sort of deviance from their position, was the Insurrectionist Force, whose commander was suffering a mild breakdown.

* * *

**December 18, 2584**

**In orbit around the New Babel Production Yards**

If not for the fact that her men's morale were to suffer, she reflected, she would be very much panicking now. Her own Fleet was scattered around the Yards, and all she needed to do to save her Fleet was to open fire on the Yards and enter slipstream space. Unfortunately her boarding parties were still in the Defense Platforms and the Yards, she would not abandon them.

There was a chance he was lying of course, that he was just saying that so that I could panic and let my guard done, then he would capitalize it in some way. On the other hand, she couldn't risk the possibility that he was telling the truth, or that he was speaking the truth when he said that the Fleet was coming but lied about when exactly they would arrive. She had to create a battle plan.

_"You know, I really do admire the stoicism you seem to currently display madam. Your eyes are such a beautiful shade of green while you look at your Tactical Display like that. Most men would fall in love with that, I'm sure."_

Lesley suppressed her surprise at the incredibly strange message to her eyebrows narrowing, which was a monumental challenge all in all. My eyes? How would he know...

Wait. He had been calling her madam for the better part of their conversation right? How did he...

_"Well, judging from the adorable face your making while your confused. I suppose I should do that more often, with your projected life span though, that may be somewhat of a challenge."_

_"...You're watching me then are you?" _Lesley said, perplexed at how the bastard had managed to hack into her ship's, at the very least, security system.

_"Well, I wouldn't call it watching per se, it has all those Big Brother and Stalker connotations. That is the word right? Connotation? Yes I that's it. Anyway, I prefer the term 'Brute forcing my way into your ship's security system so that I could take a look at the tactical genius that broke more than half my Fleet.' That seems much more accurate, don't you think madam? Coincidentally, I can't find a picture that looks like you anywhere in the UNSC's database, did you erase your files with the UNSC before joining the Insurrection? or are you just a natural beauty in the rough, a natural spatial tactician, the Ender of your generation! or did the past Ender simply teach you? We never did confirm Cole's death..."_

Lesley had enough of the annoying little bastard, and promptly ordered the security system cut. The result of which was readily, though annoyingly, apparent.

_"Well now, that wasn't very fair was it madam? Now I can no longer admi-"_

Lesley cut off the transmission before it continued any further, annoyed at her counterpart's attempts to annoy her. She checked herself, realizing the irony, before she continued with her attempts to fight off whatever would come her way.

Main Objective: Last long enough for the insertion team to locate the information required, extract them, then get the hell out of the system. On the other hand, she also had to make sure that the majority of her Fleet live to fight another day. But she needed every advantage she could get...

She looked at the tactical display, and zoomed into the ODP. She reckoned that there would be enough time to get them into a camouflaged position, if not, then that was fine too. The _Splinter in the Eye_ would only be useful if it was not in plain sight. She would take care of that.

The Station's defenses were formidable as well. It was a first generation UNSC-Federation Production Yards, and consequently was armed to the teeth, though there were flaws that could be taken advantaged of if one knew where to look. It's 50mm Point-Defense Autocannons, while somewhat dated, was effective enough to rip apart any fighter without energy shielding. The Energy Projectors would deal with anything that passes through the ODPs, though the Destroyer attack was too quick to bring the guns to bare. Archer Missile Pods, Pulse Lasers, anything on a ship besides a MAC gun and Plasma Torpedos. The only reason the ODST group managed to get in was because she knew where to look.

As it was, they were holding fire. Though they could protect themselves, they wouldn't survive multiple MAC rounds to anywhere on the thing. Mutually assured destruction was guaranteed as long as the defenses where theirs.

Lesley looked at her communications officer and, from the man's nod, began to wait.

She still had time.

* * *

The men in grey armor responded to their orders with some hesitation, before their commander ordered it done.

The Orbital Defense Platform, being one of the few truly formidable weapons during the Great War, received considerable amounts of attention when Forerunner based technology were first being applied to UNSC technology. One of these upgrades was the Modular Dispersal Technology which, in layman's terms, enabled the station to eject any and all segments of the Platform. Insurrectionist personnel were given 2.5 minutes to find an escape pod or return to their shuttles before this occurred brace for dispersal. By this time, the _Splinter in the Eye _was largely under Insurrectionist control, with less than 10% of the structure being occupied with UNSC forces. So the segments ejected, leaving all but the barest essentials necessary to the function of an ODP. The majority of the Insurrectionist boarders managed to either reach the main control room, or left by various means.

Insurrectionist ships opened fire on portions still observed to be under UNSC control, and the ODP moved in around it. Those same ships also fired upon the _Splinter_, enough to make it look as though it had survived the most horrific fight of the entire battle of New Babel. These ships then took the shuttles and the escape pods, then left to wherever their Commander told them to go.

So it was that the last remaining ODP was successfully hidden in the wreckage. A glance at the Platform would leave you with nothing but the impression of a badly damaged husk. Thermal imaging would be useless, due to so many still hot wreckages floating around them, both of the other ODPs and the segments as well.

Due to the fact that, should a single UNSC ship leave the protection offered by the Yards, they would be destroyed, no UNSC ship was in any sort of position to see the deception occurring. At the same time, any human or alien currently within the Yards were not paying attention in the least to the Insurrectionists outside the Yards, they had much larger problems to deal with.

* * *

Finding the Yards' central defensive control room wasn't the hard part. Hell, directions were present on every electronic device they could find. Taking it, on the other hand, was another problem all together.

For one thing, it was apparently defended by Sanghelli Majors, nasty bastards. Human ballistics technology hadn't advanced nearly as far as their ship tech, since the Pacification War focused more on ship-to-ship combat and orbital bombardments and was, for the Jirilhanae at the very least, far enough away from their worlds that it wasn't required. Though energy shielding found it's way to the Helljumpers, and there were some experimental guns based on the MAC design soon. Not that it would help them anyway.

One of his men was taken down, an energy sword gutting him from the back. He cursed and fired a shotgun burst at the Stealth Sanghelli's head, it caused the little fuck to spiral away from him, his energy shield recharging as it did.

The Federation, little fucks, apparently, _had_ upgraded their ground pounders' tech.

He pulled out his M6 and shot at the bastard while he was down and felt himself stagger as an energy bolt, from a plasma rifle he thought, burnt through his shields. He turned towards the alien that did it, a Minor Sanghelli, and fired his shotgun at it. He smiled as the energy shield couldn't hold the stresses of the kinetic weaponry and failed. He aimed his gun at the alien and caused the bastard's face to pop open.

Looking around, he saw the rest of his squad were all right, though 2 didn't make it. He ordered the rest to return back to the boss and get the data. They hesitated for a moment before he staggered to the control room, activating a hacking device on his left as he did while clutching his sides with the right.

He hated the Sanghelli, hated them for all that they did and all they had done. Most ODSTs hated them too, and most left the UNSC as soon as the Federation was formed. Hell, he had only met one ODST fought on New Mombassa along with some other guys. Probably dead now, some UNSC guys left without a fuss, but most went out of there with a bang. Some taking entire ships with them. He shook his head, it wasn't time to think about that now.

The device would allow the good Admiral control of the station's defenses. It would likely be detected, though they wouldn't be able to suppress it, and an entire shitload of Sanghelli would likely swarm him. She wouldn't have control of the station for long. But she didn't need it for long. Only for 1 minute, maybe even 30 seconds.

He could buy that. Yes he very well could.

He looked around, grabbing all the plasma grenades that he could and synching them with his suit's medical systems. He put them around the room, making sure everything was in it's line of sight. After that, he put everything in motion, putting the hacking device onto the mainframe.

Only a matter of time now.

* * *

"Ma'am We're getting a signal from the Insertion Group. We have control."

"Good. Burn their ships to the ether, and tell our own ships to move in right after."

* * *

The succeeding battle had more in common with a slaughter than anything remotely associated with a battle.

The ships around the installation were all within supporting lines of fire of nearly every defensive weapon onboard the thing. The Energy Projectors ripped Frigates into pieces while Archer Missiles blew up the portions that didn't explode on their own. The UNSC force's own missiles were handily countered by the Pulse Lasers and Autocannons. Archer missiles pods were riddled with bullets meters out of their firing tubes. A Marathon Cruiser attempted to leave the firing zone and was perforated with extreme prejudice by the Insurrectionist ships that laid in wait. The last Marathon cruiser faced the combined weight of all the station's defenses and was smashed.

A portion of Lesley's mind, the part that still thought _exactly_ like Lecter, said that it was way too easy. That he wouldn't leave his assets exposed unless he stood something to _gain_ from it. She acknowledged that it was a possibility.

But looking at her screen, she found that it didn't really matter.

* * *

Approximately 50 Million Kilometers away a collection of slipspace transitions occurred.

They were not one force but two, previously independent Armadas, the UNSC Twenty Third Fleet, and the Federation _Fleet of Tactical Consideration._ Both had been escorting the mobile base _Raven Rock_ from it's location in Federation space, to somewhere along the edge of the UNSC border, contrary to what the current Defensive Commander of the New Babel Defensive Force had said. The distress call had occurred when _Raven Rock_ had completely entered UNSC space, and initiated contact with a UNSC border Fleet.

Due to the fact that New Babel counted as a Federation planet, and that their duty to the UNSC was complete, nothing stopped the _Fleet of Tactical Consideration_ from moving to engage their slipspace drives and burn the bastards that _dared_ attacked the Federation of Allied Species. hey would pay for their transgressions with their lives and their blood.

Due to the fact that the UNSC couldn't let a fully armed Federation Fleet loose within their territory, and that it had another Fleet to protect it know, _Raven Rock_ ordered the Twenty Third to go after the Fleet and make sure they wouldn't get into trouble. Also, the Insurrectionists were moving, they couldn't let the Federation get all the credit from burning their begotten skins could they?

The UNSC Twenty Third Fleet was one of the newer Fleets, newly amalgamated from a dozen different sources and, concerning the Fleet as a whole, not yet tested in battle. Even then however, it's only fault was that they weren't used to cooperating with each other. Individually, each warship had gone through battle after battle, scarred but still able, and all the more impressive because of it. It consisted of 20 Destroyers, 15 Frigates, 12 Marathon-class Cruisers, 10 Halcyon-class Cruisers, The UNSC Supercarrier _The Emissary of a Vacuous Matron _with 2 more Supercarriers as escort_,_ and one Prowler largely unknown to the rest of the Fleet to serve as it's ONI liaison, ringing up a grand total of 61 Warships. Leading the Fleet from the deck of _The Emissary_, as most in the Navy wished to call it , was the eccentric Vice Admiral Marcus Coleman.

The _Fleet of Tactical Consideration_ was different however. It was mostly made up of veterans from both the Great War, and the Pacification War, with some of it's members even fighting the Flood at one point, much to the respect and, slight, jealousy from the rest of their fellows at having fought the Parasite and lived to tell the tale. They had been fighting together for so long that, without the proper guidance and cooperation within a Fleet, their individual combat effectiveness would drop horrendously low should they be separated from each other. It consisted of 15 Frigates, 10 CCS-class Battlecruisers, 10 Destroyers, 12 Cruisers, and, much to the pride of the sanghelli that serve on it, the Federation Supercarrier _An Exquisite End_, bringing the tally to 48 Warships. Similar to it's UNSC counterpart, _An Exquisite End _ was the flagship of Supreme Commander of the Federation Fleets in the Far Reaches, Dell Vestemee. Also called Dellie by the Vice Admiral.

The Supreme Commander had convened on _Raven Rock_ for several reasons, one of which was to meet up with a very interesting person onboard the Base. Among other things, he somewhat doubted his decision to bring Ghech to head the IAD. He was too cold, too against the Sanghelli ways. Too much of a revolutionary, and too much of an idealist as well. The right word would be, what was the human term, utilitarian. Yes, a utilitarian. Of course, he wouldn't besmirch Ghech's honor by saying he was a threat to the Federation, merely it did not seem wise for Ghech to be in control of the Federation's Information and Analysis Division. So he, whenever possible, came to represent the IAD, and work with them whenever possible.

One of those was the possibility of the UNSC and Federation fleets to practice joint operations training in the near future. While human and sanghelli fleets have fought with alongside each other in the past, their individual doctrines were so different that it required a concentrated effort and significant study into the problem to smooth over any command problems in the future. It was easier now, concerning the Sanghelli's respect for human tactics, but a doctrine of battle dominant for millennia can't be removed within a span of 3 decades.

For example, give to groups of ships, 5 Marathon Cruisers, and 5 CCS-Battlecruisers. Tell them to take a planet's orbital defenses platform's offline to prepare for an invasion of the planet's surface, and you'll get two answers.

The Marathon Cruisers wouldn't go anywhere _near_ the ODP's line of sight. They'd just take advantage of their Cruiser's new found slipspace capabilities, appear right behind those ODPs, and overwhelm their shields with concentrated fire. The ODPs wouldn't _dare_ to aim guns capable of firing 51.6 gigatons of force onto a populated planet. Sure there would be point defenses and any possible ships around defending it, but at least the ODPs themselves could hardly do anything about it. They would do this effectively, and as quickly as possible. To defeat the enemy completely and utterly. Honorable combat started declining around the time guns where invented and just went downhill from there.

The CCS-Battlecruisers would also use their slipspace drives to go behind the ODP's, also turning them impotent. But it would likely be followed up by boarding parties to either the ODPs themselves, or towards the ground power sources if it applied. Their focus on honor and combat while keeping them effective in battle was something that UNSC strategies couldn't completely grasp. Of course, there were exceptions. Sanghelli who fought with cunning and with no care for honor, and Jirilhanae who brute forced their way into an engagement with no thought to tactics. Generally, the Federation War Machine fought intelligently enough, but had too much of a focus on personal honor that sometimes handicapped them.

So, in light of that, and that the UNSC and The Federation were preparing their military forces should another Empire like the Covenant appear and judge them for destruction, two fleets consisting of hundreds of ships coordinating amongst each other quickly and effectively was a good thing wasn't it?

Vestemee couldn't agree more, as could Coleman.

So, on December 18, 2584, 107 Warships of both the Federation of Allied Species and the United Nations Space Command responded to a distress call from another social experiment.

* * *

Onboard _The Emissary of a Vacuous Matron_, was Vice Admiral Marcus Coleman. His participation of battles from the latest segment of the Great War and the entirety of the Pacification War had caused him to be one of the most talented spatial tactician in the entire UNSC. His current rank of Vice Admiral was earned when he successfully destroyed the Kig-Yar:Jirilhanae Fleet responsible for the destruction of Borealis and freed the traumatized prisoners onboard their ships. After being promoted to Vice Admiral, he became the Supreme Commander of the UNSC Forces in the Jirilhanae Front alongside with his Sanghelli counterpart. The architect of both the Te Liberation and the burning of Y'deio, he confounded those who would label him as a Hero or a Monster.

He was also known to be quite fond of New Babel wine, and the face of rage on the normally genial man was enough to scare his crew, even without the yelling.

"Those bastards! Those scum-sucking, saliva powered, smegma loving sons of bitches! How _dare_ they take my wine away from me! You think that this outrage will be condoned! That the Admirals, Captains and the Fleets of the United Nations Space Command will allow you to leave this day with your balls and anal virginity intact! NO! We! WILL! NOT! We will administer an ass kicking so painful, that your great-great-great-great-grandchildren will still be shouting 'Ow, my ASS!' for the rest of their pathetic little lives!"

That was 10 minutes ago. The shouting, thanks to the extensive efforts of several of his bridge crew, eventually subsided to dark mutterings of 'Magnetically Accelerated Unggoy Crap' before his holographic display chimed and he lost all semblance of rage and adopted a more calm persona, which split into a grin the moment he saw who was on the screen.

"Dellie! Good to see you. Now, what do you suggest we do to those who dare strike against the vineyar- colonies of the UNSC and the Federation." He rephrased his sentence smoothly, with the skill of an old dissembler.

Dell Vestemee let the smallest hint of a smile at the human. Despite his heavy bipolarity, which Dell still wasn't sure was deliberate or not, Marcus was a good man. He had saved his life more times than he could count, and he had saved his almost as many times as well. "Indeed Marcus Coleman. As you might have seen, the situation is grave."

"A Moment." Marcus muttered as he typed some things into his command console. Within several seconds a 3D holographic display of the battlefield appeared, all data being fed to it from the numerous allied ships, both UNSC and Federation, through cameras and radar. Very reliable, though restricted only to those at and above Admiral class for the UNSC and Fleet Master except for special exemptions which, Marcus thought smugly, he was one.

The smugness quickly dissipated as he saw the tactical display. 21 ships destroyed? 3, Echelon III Orbital Defense Platforms _destroyed_? Tactical data indicated that only 5 destroyers were destroyed by their ships. Marcus lapses into silence as he took the information all into account.

He spoke eventually "So, from what we have right now, an unknown number of ships assaulted the NB Production Yards, destroyed all their defenses, lost five ships in the process and have taken control of the NB Yards as well?"

"As you humans would say, 'Yep'." Dell said, his mandibles displaying the equivalent of a full grin.

Marcus exploded. "Excellent! Truly EXCELLENT! I haven't seen such a lopsided tactical situation since, with all modesty, I broke the Jirilhanae presence on Te! Oh god this is exciting. Not that the loss of life we suffered wasn't terrible of course. Tactical use of slipstream drives had to be present there, no way they could bypass the ODPs any other way, willingness to sacrifice 5 destroyers in return is also a distinct factor in this and-"

The tirade was broken off by a communications hail. Marcus looked at it and turned to his partner. "Dellie, it seems our adversaries at the Yards would like to speak with us for a moment."

"By all means my friend, go and take it then."

Marcus nodded and activated the console. A hologram began to form, that of a dour middle aged man, somewhat thin, in a dark blue suit with white stripes and black tie. He was fairly thin and spoke with the tone of a lawyer.

"Greetings I am Planetary Security Intelligence AI _Lost in the Void_. I have been assigned to the protection of the NB Production Yards site for the last 2.5 years. The Site's defensive armaments are in Insurrectionist control, though that problem will be countered within the next minute. I request your assistance in pacifying Insurrectionist ship elements orbiting the underside of the Site. Tactical data is being sent now."

Marcus glanced at the tactical display and saw it changed as the AI had promised. 15 ships, 10 Frigates, 3 Halcyons and 2 Marathons were hiding behind the 10km long superstructure. He observed the display while formulating his questions for the AI.

"So...How did the enemy take the NB Site _Lost?_" Marcus said casually.

"The Opponent used 5 Echelon III Destroyers on a suicide run to disable the Orbital Defense Platforms as well as any ships around them. Immediately after their destruction and the destruction of all ODPs, a Fleet of 30 ships appeared and forced the remains of the Defense Forces to retreat within the Site's defenses. They boarded the Site through an undiscovered blind side and took control of the weapons system, which they used to eliminate the remaining ships. It is my suggestion that they want something onboard the ship."

"Interesting." Marcus said, and it was. Except for one thing. "_Lost_ why did you allow that to happen?"

The AI did not reply for a second, a very long time for an AI before it responded. "I do not understand your question Vice Admiral."

"I mean that you are a PSI, which means that such an attack should have been prevented and countered so many times in your head that it would go flawlessly in actual practical application. How many people died in the attacks, including the boarders in your ship."

"37"

Marcus blew out his breath in exasperation "Seriously now! I don't appreciate your sort of humor now, tell me how many people died in those ships!"

"0"

He looked at the AI with a strange expression. "Death due to the boarders currently going through the Site?"

"40. Original number updated."

"So your telling me that those ships had no captains, no officers, no one onboard."

"Affirmative"

"That, beyond the ones currently being killed onboard the Site, no one else was killed."

"Affirmative."

"Who is your commanding officer _Lost_?"

"You are sir."

"I mean who commanded you to lose this battle."

"Classified"

"I am the Vice Admiral of the UNSC Twenty Third Fleet consisting of 61 ships. Beside me is the Supreme Commander of the _Fleet of Tactical Consideration _consisting of48 ships and is also the Supreme Commander, hence the name, of all Federation Fleets and answers to no one besides the Imperial Admiral, and the Council of the Federation_. _We've brought worlds to their knees and burnt hundreds of ships in the name of Humanity, Sanghelli, Mgalekgolo, Unggoy or whatever! We have action figures named after us!Are you telling me your Master is more important than either of _us_!"

"Affirmative"

"Are you attached to ONI?"

"Negative"

"Is your master attached to ONI?"

"Classified"

Marcus clutched at his hair and screamed loudly "You basically just _told_ me that your Master was attached to ONI! No one else would have the capacity to say 'Fuck You' to a member of the Admiralty or the Supreme Commander of the _fucking_ Federation Fleets! Why wo-"

"Interdiction. My Master has stated that he/she/it would speak to you. But only if you, and the Supreme Commander, were to accept a deal."

Dell chose to interrupt then, his curiosity overcoming both his amusement with Marcus, and his growing concern. "A deal? ONI would not want a deal, they would simply demand it of any they deem appropriate. They are, in a way, your commanding officers. They do not need a deal."

"Affirmative. However, the circumstances of the deal require you perform it to the best of your abilities and, as such, we are asking for your cooperation in whatever it is we ask of you. Depending upon your enthusiasm for it, you will be placed accordingly. But we will need you to accept.

Marcus raised his eyebrows "That would be...what, exactly?"

"For both you and your Fleets to assist ONI-IAD forces in Operation:BERMUDA."

_

* * *

_

**The Saxon Studies:The Humint Institute **

The Saxon studies was a concentrated effort by the Humint Institute of Psychology to investigate the social and psychological aspects of human-alien interaction. The Humint Institute authorized 45 individual experiments from 2557 to the present day, with 5 open only to UNSC personnel above Security Clearance 0-1, and with 3 being only known to the current head of the United Earth Government, the Supreme Commander of the United Nations Space Command and it's subsidiaries and the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence.

[]Unofficially, the Humint Institute also initiated 9 experiments by the suggestion of ONI. The first experiment, being chronologically the first thing the Humint Institute worked on, consisted of ██ Sanghelli subjects along with ███ Jiralhanae prisoners from a captured CCS-Battlecruiser. Experiments consisted of utilizing Forerunner technology to manipulate neural and cerebral patterns of the subjects. Testing was marginally successful, with 94% of the test subjects expiring due to severe brain tumors and the rest developing psychological problems and were deemed unusable.[T]

By 2575, it had become the most knowledgeable Institute on human-alien interaction in the scientific community, and pioneered many advances in medical sciences. By this time, the Humint Institute was one of the prime advocates of human-alien colony construction, which was being delayed due to the Government's concern of the potential ways such a project could go horribly wrong.

[]By this time, ONI had made considerable strides in perfecting their experiments, with the sole exception of the Hugarok species which continued to neither be affected, or hurt at all by their experiments and the Lekgolo in general, which required a considerable amount of effort to influence. It is of note that business men controlling certain aspects of the civilian infrastructure required by ONI for Operation BERMUDA attempted to interfere with Humint's attempts at initiating the human-alien colonies. They seemed to see Humint as a threat to their own respective businesses and, while not knowing anything about BERMUDA, knew their importance to ONI and attempted to use it to delay the project. Insurrectionist elements caught wind of this and attempted to save said business men. 10 out of 12 are known to have been successfully terminated and replaced, while the rest were successfully administered amnesiacs before rescue from Insurrectionist forces.[]

At 2578, with agreement from the Federation, 7 planets, in both Federation and UNSC space, were selected to proceed in the experiment. All but one, New Babel, were to be hidden and New Babel itself was to have a constant military presence provided for by select contractors and UNSC assistance. All in all, the project had 35 million humans and aliens on every world. The exertion cost the Humint Institute a considerable amount of funds, but they considered it worth it.

[]Remnants of the Extremist factions from the Pacification War attempted numerous times to raid and destroy the New Babel colony, 15 times to be precise. Their attempts are not significant enough to go into an in depth study.[]

As of December 16, 2584 New Babel and her sister planets are the shining jewel of the Humint Institute, and serves as the strongest reminder that both Humanity, Sanghelli, Jirilhanae and any other species could live together in peace and bury the past to where it belongs.

[]With the destruction of New Babel, and the accompanying public outrage, the Humint Institute lost a large amount of government backing at such a blunder. The UNSC was not implicated in the assault, due to the fact that the Fleets assigned to defend the planet had been occupied eliminating a nearby Insurrectionist base, and could only return in time to destroy the fleet that initiated the massacre. The Institute itself began a long spiral of decline, inevitably leading to Humint's dissolution on 2590. During it's fall, several aspects of the Institute was recruited, purchased or otherwise amalgamated by other rivaling Institutes of companies. Most notably Concordia Industries, Lamp Technologies, Research and Engineering Academy, and The Noble Foundation. Which are all contracted to the UNSC for research on military technologies, civilian technologies, and , respectively.[]

* * *

'Authors Note:

The large amount of time from the last update was caused by multiple things, school, research, projects, etc. In any case, my update for the next one will be tomorrow, as I said, while the next one will, hopefully, be within the week.

That is all.


	5. Insurrection: Pt3: New Babel

Disclaimer: Both Halo and Star Wars franchises do not belong to me. The Halo series belongs to Bungie, or 343 Industries which Bungie created to take care of the Halo franchise. Star Wars belongs to Lucasarts in turn. Any other Franchise I will add to this story will also not be made by me, and I will acknowledge them in turn.

* * *

**Quae nocent, saepe docent** - _What hurts, often instructs. One learns by bitter/adverse experience_

**December 18, 2584**

**New Babel Defensive Control Center**

He put his last round into the MA5C's chamber, laughing madly as he did.

5 Sanghelli dead, and more than 3 minutes and he was still alive. If he didn't know better, there was someone watching out for him or something.

In any case, he was out. No more shells for his shotgun, no more grenades, no more tricks. Just him, an MA5C, an M6, and that fucking Zealo coming towards him with an Energy Sword.

A good way to die then.

He fired his rifle at him, watching as the Energy Shielding first disintegrated the bullets, then caused them to ricochet as the barrage caused the shielding to lessen it's power. The shields were still there when the Zealot swung his sword horizontally. He tackled the bastard, feeling the shield fail as it did and fired at it's belly with his rifle, it wouldn't hit him due to his own shielding but the sound of the firing gun was rapidly causing him to go deaf.

He felt a huge amount of pain at his side and brought his rifle to the split-jaw's face just as it ran out of bullets. It hit with a beautiful crack which contrasted nicely with the energy sword he stabbed into his stomach afterwards.

He drew out his M6 and attempted to fire at his head, but failed when an energy dagger from the alien's other hand sliced his hand off. He couldn't help himself and screamed as the Zealot put his foot on his chest and aimed his sword at his chest.

"A pity. You are a great warrior, it would have been an honor to fight by your side."

He smiled and spat at the alien bastard.

Then he felt the energy sword burn his heart and spine.

A second later, all the plasma grenades went off.

_

* * *

_

The Insertion group stopped as they heard the explosions go off, hearing his death due to the fact that his radio was still on. They continued

Eventually, they came within 150 meters of the Control Center, where they were abruptly greeted by projectile fire.

The area they were in was an antechamber, the last significant room before the way to the control center was clear. Facing the former ODST were collections of barricades and weapon emplacements. There were men in black uniform and he spent no time in taking them down.

He pulled out a grenade launcher and, signalling to the others, fired 4 of them at the group at once. The result was impressive and unsanitary. The remainder of the men in black, disturbed by the immense shockwave from the grenade attack, posed no resistance as the ODSTs assaulted their positions and killed them with quick precision.

The commander of the group looked at the corpses, faintly disturbed at what he found before they moved on to their objective. They were in enemy territory now, communicating with the Fleet would likely bring more opponents in to stop them. So he decided to let his report wait until he later.

The bodies all had the same emblem attached to them, that of a stylized pyramid with circles inside it, and circles enveloping it from the outside, mostly black and white. The title below it changed the entire situation drastically.

The Office of Naval Intelligence.

The commander abruptly ordered his men to move faster. They'd been played, but he'd be damned if he'd get nothing out of it.

He immediately felt a surge of heat and light, then he couldn't see anything anymore.

* * *

Dell chose to interrupt at this point, his curiosity battering down his amusement at Marcus' distress and the disturbing implication that a Vice Admiral and Supreme Commander would only _assist _in an operation important enough that the IAD and ONI would be cooperating.

"You are then telling us _Lost in the Void_, that your Naval Intelligence is cooperating with our Analysis Division for a significant operation?"

"Affirmative"

"This would require, how much resources exactly would it take to initiate this operation."

"...extensive"

"May I ask how much?"

"More than what the UNSC or the Federataion currently holds"

Dell didn't bother to hide his surprise "What are these resources then? Technological. Military?"

"Classified"

"When can we have sufficient resources to carry out BERMUDA"

"Current rate of production and technological advance states that the maximum would be 27 years. Give or take 5."

Marcus stared at the AI. "Projected Fleet size?"

"Classified"

"Let me restate that, the minimum amount of ships constructed within 10 years?"

"Classified"

Dell glanced at Marcus, who was in turn glancing at him. They had fought besides each other for many years, both during the Pacification War and the remnants of the Jirilhanae and Extremist factions. They were friends and blood brothers, a fact Dell was proud off. Communicating with each other by merely glances, reading each other by their body language, was easy.

A slight movement of the head _'What do you think?'_

Glance at the AI with a slight narrowing of the eyes _'I don't trust it'_

Nod then shrug _'True, but does it really matter?'_

Slight smile _'I suppose not'_

Cracking of fingers _'Back into the breach my friend?'_

Full smile _'Indeed'_

If BERMUDA was dangerous, then it was their job to stop it. If it wasn't, then it would be a very nice adventure to get the blood flowing. Dell wasn't sure if they were doing it out of some sense of duty or because it was fun. Obviously, exposure to Marcus degraded his sense of duty. Typical.

"All right, fine." Marcus said. "We are willing to bring both our Fleets, and ourselves, into the service of ONI and the IAD. Now, would you _please_ tell me who the hell your Master is?"

"Certainly Vice Admiral."

The hologram of the AI...changed itself, for lack of a better term. The man's outline began to glow with a green hue, and the details on his body and face began to recede to black. As that happened, the figure began to condense into a single point, like a black hole except it was outlined with colors, all of which were predominantly a dark green in color. Eventually, all that remained was a single dark point, with a mixture of black and dark green swirling around it.

"Ah, that feels good. You know, I really have to give the Admiralty credit, it took me a bit of a while to download myself into your servers. Not that it wasn't that hard, but some of those firewalls were really impressive..."

Marcus stared at the new entity for a moment , Dell himself was somewhat shocked before Marcus moved. He took at a silvery object, a key now that Dell remembered properly, stabbed it into the right armrest of his command chair, turned it and pressed a button on his left. "State your class and designation now. If you do not reply, then I will initiate the Cole Protocol. If you attempt to harm me, then my increased pulse and heartbeat will signal the computer to also initiate the Protocol. Killing me will result in the Protocol's initiation. Incapacitating me will also initiate the Cole Protocol due to certain words that need to be said within a certain time span. No it's not the word Protocol. Now, answer me."

The black hole seemed to, and Dell didn't know how he knew it, raise it's hands in the standard 'I am unarmed pose'. "Listen, I'm willing to answer your question all right? However, there are some...sensitive documents onboard the station in need of destruction. Would you kindly concentrate on the Insurrectionists first? Ok, I can see how I could be threatening so here. ONI Special Command Override 001."

Dell watched carefully as Marcus, while not exactly relaxing, did move his hand away from the button on his left. "SCO-001. Haven't heard that one since...since the end of the Pacification I think. Fine. We'll burn the place, but you will answer us afterwards. Understand?"

The thing seemed to bob up and down. "Of course Vice Admiral. I live to serve."

Marcus looked at him, and Dell nodded in understanding. "Of course you do, whatever you are."

_Explain later. Be prepared. Think it's a trap._

* * *

There was a certain saying about power and tactics.

All you really need to achieve victory is style and power, and in a pinch, style can slide. For a great majority of the Great War, the Covenant held the distinction of overwhelming firepower due to both their numbers, tactics, and technology. Nevertheless, it was a fact that, when one side of the battlefield had a sufficient amount of force, they had no need to play with tactics unless it was necessary.

So, without the need to care about the Production Yards anymore, there was nothing really stopping a force of more than 100 ships to do anything they damn well wanted to.

The Federation forces aimed their weapons at the Yards and fired all their Plasma Torpedos at once. 48 warships of the _Fleet of Tactical Consideration_ fired all their plasma weaponry at the Yards at once, the numerous discharges merely turning into a wall of plasma as it brought destruction towards the forces hiding behind the Yards. Though a good deal of them mumbled that there was no honor in it, there was still the fact that any enemy stuck within the path of 48 plasma torpedos will still die, no questions asked, so they stayed silent.

Several seconds before they hit, the 59 ships of the Twenty Third fired all their MAC Guns at once, sending dozens of ferric-iron rounds to the soon-to-not-exist space station a splint second before the metal started to boil. The distance involved would insure that the rounds would hit so fast that the the plasma torpedos would still be melting the station.

For their part, the Insurrectionist forces behind the Yards attempted to time the explosion exactly right so they could enter slipstream space unnoticed, and insure they wouldn't be tracked down even if they did survive. The 15 ships there, 10 Frigates, 3 Halcyons and 2 Marathons, would make the timeframe between safe, and boiling in a thousand hells, where they could safely jump a short one.

When the Plasma Torpedos hit, a good majority of them were expecting it, so 5 Frigates, 2 Halcyons and 1 Marathon managed to make it. The remaining ships did not expect the subsequent hail of MAC rounds, and were suitably ripped apart into individual titanium scraps for their folly.

After waiting for metaphorical dust to settle for a few seconds, the Fleet moved in.

* * *

The men in grey armor watched as they lost.

The Defense Platform was sufficiently protected from the heat by the plating already present on the ODP, but that in itself was already sufficient. The _Splinter_ wasn't designed to absorb the generated heat of so many plasma torpedos so close to it, and it's electronic targeting systems would fail in minutes, with the reactors powering the Super MACs following shortly afterwards. Soon, they would lose here.

They did not agree with Lesley's policies, but they followed her because she was both a good commander, for an alien lover, and because it was necessary. Even then, Lesley's policies sickened them.

Why would they not hate the species that caused planets to burn and billions to die?

Why should they forget their mothers and fathers, their uncles and aunts, their wives and husbands, their children and grandfathers?

Why should they forgive them?

and why should they do nothing?

So they set their sights on the Supercarrier in the distance, readied the ODP, and prepared themselves for what glory they could pull here..

The other Insurrectionists, those who retreated inward when the ODP dispersed itself, attempted to stop them. They fired their weapons at the men in grey armor, and were fired at in turn. It did not matter.

They wouldn't have enough time to stop them.

A message to both the treacherous UNSC and the despicable Federation.

They would NOT be Forgotten.

It would be a glorious day.

* * *

Dell Vestiamee watched as Marcus attempted to grill the obviously amused AI about what the hell BERMUDA was, to limited degrees of effectiveness. He sighed and rested his neck onto his command seat, deep in thought as to what BERMUDA could possibly be.

It needed more resources than either the UNSC or the Federation currently had.

It was coordinated by both ONI and the IAD.

...that's it really.

He closed his eyes, thinking back to memories of the war and would have gone into a very detailed flashback if his Navigations officer didn't immediately alert him that something was wrong by screaming, as the humans call it, like a little girl.

Dell looked up quickly, saw the problem, and spoke into the general alert system.

"All hands, brace for Impact! Marcus, I require your assistance!"

* * *

During the Great War, the Orbital Defense Platforms were one of the most powerful and effective anti-ship weapons the UNSC had at it's disposal, capable of firing one 3,000 ton tungsten/depleted uranium round in 5 seconds at a little over 20,000 kms a second, and cut a hole through any Covenant warship no questions asked, and frequently went beyond that warship and ripped the one behind it as well.

So one of the first things the UNSC upgraded with Forerunner tech would, of course, be the tool that has proved completely effective against any and all foes and guards the colonies of man.

One, like the modular dispersal technology, was designed to insure that the crew onboard a ODP would be safe. Power supplies were another, insuring the ODPs would never have to rely on outside power sources ever again, thus limiting options for an opposing fleet. Point defense guns which were completely absent in the Great War versions, insured no enemy could board with impunity. Others, yet to be properly attached, insured that no ship could go within 40 kilometers by using the Forerunner's knowledge of slipspace technology and creating, for all intents and purposes, a no fly zone for any slipspace capable ship that did not have the proper codes. Then there were the ones specifically designed to, if one would excuse the language, brutally and painfully rape the opposing ship to death

The guns had been improved, basically adding another Super MAC gun to the thing. Increasing the 3,000 ton round to accelerate at 20,000 kms a second, and reload at 3 seconds instead of 5. With the added benefit of energy shielding on the ODPs, the only thing that could really hurt it anymore was a slipspace capable ship parking outside it's main gun and firing at it, or simply boarding it. Anything else would find the wrath of god more merciful.

So when the _Splinter in the Eye_ had aimed it's guns at _An Exquisite End, _the ship itself showing it's sides, the ship was already dead.

In less than a quarter of a second, two 3,000 ton rounds reached the ship, the first disintegrating against the shield with such force that the ship's power supply suffered a catastrophic meltdown and would have had to be shut down for at least 3 hours if the point hadn't already been moot. The next MAC round hit the ship at it's reserves of plasma, causing a breach in containment and secondary explosions to occur all over the sides. Automatic evacuation procedures are initiated, with the crew quickly moving to get onboard escape pods before the ship ejects it's segments.

The UNSC response was as quick as it was brutal, 150 archer missile pods with 5 accompanying MAC rounds, but they didn't destroy the ODP quickly enough. Two more rounds fired at the Supercarrier, at the front and back of the ship now. This also ripped apart the Supercarrier to massive amounts of shrapnel, and also causing the 27 kilometer ship to spiral into space, which given it's sheer size, meant that it was moving through space at an ungodly speed. The ship's evacuation procedures initiated at this point, and it's parts scattered in every direction at once. A fairly large portion of them were capable of controlling themselves, and moved far enough away from _An Exquisite End_ that they could be safely retrieved. Others were not so lucky, and followed the doomed ship.

_An Exuisite End_ was just outside New Babel's gravitational well and, with that push, caused the massive ship to spiral into the planet. While incredibly threatening to see a 27 kilometer Supercarrier weighing tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of metric tons about to crash into a planet, that was not the most distressing matter for New Babel.

The most distressing matter was that three 3,000 ton Super MAC capable of roughly 68.6 megatons of force had passed through the ship and still had more than enough momentum to hit the ground with roughly 60 teratons of force, at the very. Passing through the warship had reduced the strength of the rounds by a considerable degree, and the atmosphere did reduce the rounds velocity, but it was still three 3,000 ton Super MAC rounds hitting a planet with enough force to give the fist of god a run for it's money. Too little, too late.

**

* * *

**

Millions of kilometers away, using probes she left behind to observe the Fleet, Lesley watched as New Babel died.

The three rounds all hit the planet on land, not that it mattered where it would hit really, but the fact the rounds hit near population centers seemed to instill a larger sense of tragefy to the whole thing, as if it was choreographed to have done so.

The ground seemed to literally shake with the impact, the tectonic plates moving and crumbling, causing immense earthquakes on the planet. Kinetic energy from the strikes themselves wiped out anything on the surface of the strikes for hundreds of kilometers. The atmosphere was ripped apart by the sheer amount of energy.

Then the Supercarrier crashed on the planet.

Lesley was a strong woman, fighting for ONI for decades and committing atrocities as part of her duty. But nothing compared to what she was seeing.

She had to turn away.

But only for a moment, when she turned her face back to the screen it was filled with a manic, dangerous light that genuinely disturbed her men.

"Tell the rest of the fleet to move. We've been compromised. Return to base."

A brief flash of light, then nothing.

* * *

**Liberation of Bahalo**

On July 11, 2553, Sanghelli Forces led by the Arbiter entered the Tala System and, engaging the Jirilhanae Forces there, initiated a 6 month long siege known as the Liberation of Bahalo, the Unggoy Homeworld.

The Siege was due to the Jirilhanae assaults on the Sanghelli Worlds several months prior, the assault generating death tolls going into the hundreds of thousands. The Sanghelli initiated a pledge of total war, that either the Jirilhanae, or the Sanghelli, would be extinct and their worlds turned to ash no matter the cost.

The Arbiter himself requested the presence of UNSC forces in the siege, but the Extremist Faction within the Human government and the overall lack of UNSC ships resulted in them sending a group of 5 Destroyers, led by Captain Marcus Coleman. The Arbiter himself held no grudge against the UNSC for this, understanding their predicament, and accepted the ships with gratitude. The Destroyers, known as Battle Group Alpha, would observe the Siege, transmitting recordings of the battle to the Admiralty and ONI, while assisting Sanghelli forces in numerous operations.

Sanghelli forces initiated a brutal first strike, mirroring human tactics and pragmatism, on the Jirilhanae Orbital Defense Station _Faith in the Covenant_ moving in-system on a routine patrol through the Unggoy home system. A CCS Battlecruiser, it's inhabitants evacuated, being commanded by a 'Dumb' AI and it's slipspace engines tampered with, appeared within _Faith_'s cargo hold and initiated a slipspace explosion similar to the one that destroyed the Covenant Supercarrier _Long Night of Solace_ years prior. The Station experienced a total loss of more than 34% of it's mass, 78% of it's combat capabilities and 100% of all starships currently docked into the Station. Sanghelli forces then appeared several thousand kilometers away from _Faith_, eliminated it's honor guard, and took control of station's remains, which was still roughly 30 kilometers across, if the two pieces were connected together again, and weighed well into the hundreds of thousands of metric tons.

Sanghelli forces then spent several weeks welding the pieces together, using resources from captured kig-yar traders. Sanghelli forces continue to raid Jirilhanae platforms over a series of 7 weeks, limiting Jirilhanae resources and military strength. Several worlds, in use by the Jirilhanae as a source of fuel or raw material were either captured by the Sanghelli or destroyed though glassing. The world of Tialem, Kistaverf, Goulm, and Haastur are deemed unsuitable for microscopic life afterwards.

Jirilhanae forces arrive 9 weeks after first initiation, delay due to coordinated Sanghelli assault on 47% of Jirilhanae held worlds. They assault Sanghelli owned gas world of Yaust was deemed unfit for life after initial Jirilhanae assault. Jirilhanae forces then expunged by Arbiter led forces and retreat to Bahalo.

12 weeks after initial confrontation, Sanghelli forces assault the moons of Bahalo with Special Operatives. Power supply to 8 of the 15 Jirilhanae Defense Platforms are cut and anti-matter charges terminate them accordingly. Remains of Jirilhanae forces at that time, 34 starships all in all, still outnumber Sanghelli forces considerably, 19. Jirilhanae reinforcements to Bahalo redirected due to raid on Napret System.

Raids on Jirilhanae forces continue until they are forced to converge on Bahalo and her moons 15 weeks into the battle. Repeated attempts to destroy the Defense Platforms reduce the planet's defenses to 3 which, the Arbiter concluded, was sufficient to eliminate the Jirilhanae threat.

By this time, _Faith in the Covenant_ had been refurnished with additional weaponry and is used to assault Bahalo. 59% of the Station's mass is reduced to it's basic forms before all orbital platforms, 30 Jirilhanae starships, and Buwan and Padpad (Bahalo's moons) are liberated. Remaining starships either sink into Bahalo or attempt to flee, wherein they are destroyed by orbiting UNSC presence. Jirilhanae forces retreat to 16 bunkers spread across the world, beginning the ground warfare phase of the siege.

24 weeks into the battle, and 14 of the Bunkers are located and liquidated. The last two, designated Alpha-Alpha and Alpha-Lambda are considered the most important, with A-A containing a Hiearch and A-L containing Jirilhanae Fleet movements. A-L, unfortunately, initiated a self-destruct sequence before Sanghelli special forces could reach it.

Alpha-Alpha is assaulted by Sanghelli special operatives led by the Arbiter on the 26th week of the battle. 4 Hours afterward, the Prophet of Courage is dragged out of his bunker and is executed by the Arbiter, concluding the liberation of Bahalo.

Effects of this are considerable. Unggoy obeying the Jirilhanae out of fear of their homeworld defect, 81% of the Unggoy forces defecting within a period of 18 months. Loss of Bahalo is also popularly considered to be the main cause of the Borealis Incident, which initiated the UNSC's presence into the Pacification War.

* * *

**Author's Note**

As promised, here's the second half. I don't think it's as well written as the first half, but it's here.

Next Arc will be about the Spartan-IVs, which will go in about a week or so.


	6. Inducement: Part 1

**Disclaimer**: Both Halo and Star Wars franchises do not belong to me. The Halo series belongs to Bungie, or 343 Industries which Bungie created to take care of the Halo franchise. Star Wars belongs to Lucasarts in turn. Any other Franchise I will add to this story will also not be made by me, and I will acknowledge them in turn.

* * *

**_Spero melior- I hope for better things_**

The Damocles-Kurpa System

**November 17, 2584**

The Damocles-Kurpa System, one of the oldest solar systems found by the UNSC by virtue of it's policy of aggressive expansion, it held a young blue star, which caused an asteroid belt 1.5 AU away from the star. The asteroid belt itself was massive, with asteroids ranging in - kilometers routinely smashing into each other and would have long ago turned themselves into planets had the UNSC not made specific measures to insure it wouldn't happen.

By itself, it would have been mined by opportunistic companies in an effort to support the Humanist expansion, and in fact was being mined to serve that purpose, just not by the companies. It also would have been a popular tourist attraction, the millions and billions of asteroids illuminated by the warmth of a blue sun. Had it also not been wiped from UNSC, Federation, IAD and ONI information servers, except for a select few.

The system appeared deserted, and no life was visible until something came out of slipstream space. A ship. Well, a ship would be somewhat insulting to the designers.

_Raven Rock_ was a marvel of human engineering, designed and built within the first twenty years since the Pacification War ended as both a test bed for the Forerunner-based technologies and as the first of the System Incident Centers, though jokingly called the runt of the litter. While not smoothly organic like the Federation ships, or crudely mechanical like most human ships, or even vaguely monolithic like it's Forerunner roots, it had variables of all of them. It was, to all appearances from the outside, a perfectly smooth dark blue ball of metal with strange markings in bright blue written all over it. Which was a form of deception, since the dark metal had greater resistance against damage than Federation hulls.

The ship's name originated from, besides the naming system of the SI, the fact that it was, for all intents and purposes, a big rock. The Raven was due to the naming system though. Still, the crew of _Raven Rock_, felt that it was a fearsome name to the 6 x 6 kilometer space station. Though large, roughly 70-80% of it's mass was either to engineering or fitted inch by inch with every human weapons system known to man and alien. Archer missile pods hidden in random pockets within the sphere, MAC guns strategically placed to insure a 360 degree line of fire, NOVA bombs placed in secure, and discreet, firing pods to wipe out any opposition, energy shielding equal to a Federation Supercarrier, top of the line slipspace drives and at least half a dozen more weapons systems designed to destroy anything thrown against it.

All in all, the ship carried enough weaponry to bring an entire sector fleet to it's knees and make them beg for mercy, as it was designed to. Though rarely seen by anyone against the UNSC, and even rarely sent to destroy Insurrectionists, it could theoretically wipe out the entire Insurrectionist threat if they were all in the same system. But they weren't, and that wasn't it's purpose anyway so the point was irrelevant anyway.

Still, Lecter hadn't been all that happy with it. He had originally wanted the MHE weapon installed into _Center-18_, it's designation within the SI, but for many varied reasons, it didn't. Lecter made up in this by installing the MHE to every subsequent Center that had been made since, and will be made.

Still, the reactors on _Raven Rock_ was _just_ lacking the capacity to power every city on Earth 24/7 for several lifetimes. This was partly due to the Federation-based reactors, emphasis on the reactors part, but even more due to the Forerunner based reactor. This reactor, labeled F-E-1 for convenience, could conceivably wipe out a good portion of life in the Sol system if brought to overload somewhere around the vicinity of Jupiter, not counting the supernova from the gas giant should that much energy hit it at once. Since spontaneous solar combustion was not part of the design, officially, it was not permitted to enter a populated solar system which was of relative importance.

The crew, were all drawn from the cream of Earth's crop, both ONI and UNSC. However, the majority of the ship was automated, with only enough navy personnel to pilot the ship, enough men to repair anything that would go wrong, and enough Marines and ODSTs to violently take over any planet they come across.

As it approached the asteroid field, blasting any asteroid that proved to be an inconvenience, it saw other signs of life. The occasional piece of metal that in no way would originate from an asteroid, Prowlers watching them from a distance then disappearing, things like that. Until, 10-15 minutes since entering the field, they reached their destination.

It was...large. Larger than _Raven Rock,_ it was a collection of asteroids, the smallest dwarfing _Raven Rock_, with the largest being roughly the same size as a Federation Supercarrier. All orbiting around a monolith of dark blue metal, roughly 40 km in length and 30 in width. Smaller, nearly concealed by the size of their larger cousins, were asteroids that, upon closer inspection, were seen as what they really were. Orbital Defense Platforms, dozens of them continuously revolving around the massive space station and it's collection of asteroids.

It was not intended to act as a Military Platform, or really move at all. It was designed for one purpose, to strategically command the 25 other currently existing SI Centers in the event of a war of extermination. If something wipes out the UNSC High Command, or the entire United Earth Government, it would take control. If the colonies of man burnt to the ground, and it's planets taken by the alien, it would be Humanity's last stand. It's official designation was _Center-05,_ but most called it by it's standard call sign. Enclave.

* * *

_Center-05, this is Center-18 code named 'Raven Rock' requesting permission to dock with E-07 for split-jaw recruits, over._

_'Raven Rock' this is Enclave Control. We are sending you the procedure codes now. Failure to send codes to E-07 will result in E-07-1 through 5 to open fire on you, over. _

_Acknowledged Enclave Control. Sending codes now._

_System-18, your request has been noted and archived. You are now authorized to dock with E-07. Welcome to Enclave._

_

* * *

_

Ghell was very much excited.

Most of the trip wasn't very exciting though, after they had been herded into a CCS-Battlecruiser, they had gone through a lot of slipspace jumps, a lot of different galactic sectors, and did very little besides attempt to peak at what the elder sanghelli were doing. Besides looking around for other Spartan-IV recruits. Both were unsuccessful, the elders seemingly finding them with near prophetic accuracy, and that there were no other recruits besides them on the ship. So they had hypothesized that there were in other ships.

Eventually, they had reached a Federation stronghold, got into another Battlecruiser and continued on. Except for the fact that a few hundred recruits were added. So he tried to find out who they all were.

As it turned out, he didn't really get a lot of information. He argued to himself that 24 hours wasn't a lot of time to get to know 200+ Sanghelli, but he still got some info.

They were varied, they all came from the every corner of the Federation. Some from Sanghellios, others in space stations, others in inner colonies like Hestiamon, things like that.

Their age were all roughly the same, eight years old. Which wasn't that strange, he thought. The original Spartans began training at 6, more or less, so 8 wasn't that strange.

They came as individuals or in small groups, rarely more than 3 though. He didn't know the reasoning for that but he assumed it was because they were the best of the best which, he supposed, didn't justify that there were females involved as well.

Roughly 2/5 of the entire group were females, an unprecedented number in any combat group, and Ghell felt a certain amount of annoyance that 2/5 of the first Sanghelli Spartan battalion would be female. Not that females weren't in the Sanghelli armed forces, just that most of them were on ships and did not participate in ground operations.

One of the females in particular, Helian, was particularly troublesome. Constantly annoying him by engaging in covert operations against his nutritional needs. Though the taste of Unggoy nutritional paste was educational, his breath maintaining a hint of methane did not. He suspected had she not been brought in to be a part of the Spartan program, she would have been in Spec-Ops, with him never finding her when playing Concealed and Search. Females, bah.

Still, the sight of the Human ship had been a nice surprise. They had called it _Raven Rock_, which made no sense until one of the humans had explained that Raven was the name of a warm-blooded flying animal on their homeworld. Strange, he admitted, but it did have some sort of mysticism to the entire ship, and what a ship it was.

They hadn't let them go far, which he bore with some patience and subdued muttering, but what he did see was interesting indeed. Almost disturbingly white walls, which was somehow clean, and neon lights imbedded into the walls, which showed the occasional runes which he assumed was the human language.

They had attempted to speak to some of the human warriors guarding them, and they sometimes answered their questions. For the most part, they seemed exactly like the human warriors during the Great War, with open helmets and rugged equipment, unlike the smooth organic quality of the Sanghelli's. While most did not speak to him, there were a few who did.

Which was exactly what he was doing when _Raven Rock_ docked with Enclave Module 07, talking to a veteran of both Great and Pacification War. Communications turned out not to be that problematic, since he had a translation device installed to his helmet, which he explained was given to everyone guarding the Sanghelli recruits.

They were currently deep in conversation about the benefits of Human and Sanghelli weaponry, his newly given translation module allowing a lively debate to form.

"Well, you see Gell" he said, as he mispronounced his name and hefted a firearm to his chest, "this is the M6G Personal Defense Weapon System, a bit outdated, but still useful in most situations. It fires 12.7x40mm M225 SAP-HE, that's Semi-Armor piercing High Explosives for the uninformed, .50 caliber ammunition. A shot to the head and BAM! Said the lady, dead before he could even see it. No miracle going to save you once it hits."

Ghell didn't back down "True, but the Type 25 Directed Energy Weapon is just as useful! It fires superheated ionized gas at 100-150 KV 2~3 dA on normal but can reach 1.5 MV if overcharged! It would cook the flesh and organs of anything within a few meters!"

The human laughed "Ain't that the truth. Still, anything beyond a few meters wouldn't feel the impact as much as a .50 caliber shell hitting them. At range it's, if you'll forgive my french, shit. Still, you have a point, not much splash damage on the M6G."

Ghell filed away the foreign word for later, jumped at the compromise. "So you admit the Type 25 is better?"

He smiled "Well, I didn't say that. Yes, it could overcharge itself and kill a Scorpion's engines stone dead, but then what? You'd be shot dead because it would be too busy recharging itself while all an M6G has to do is reload. Even the magazine, with 3 rounds or so, won't start shooting all over the place. It will aim true, while the Type 25 starts petering out in the last few shots."

"Not that the M6G is any better! It only has 8 rounds, meaning each miss is costly and has a slow firing rate. Yes, you could blow a person's head off, but that doesn't mean that you could actually hit the head in the first place.

The human raised his hands up in a sign of peace. "Fine, fine kid. You're right, both weapons have flaws and weaknesses, just like any other weapon. Now, the 99D-S2 Anti-Material on the other hand-"

_"All Personnel are advised, docking with Enclave Module 07 is complete. The crew is to standby and await further orders. Special orders are being enacted. Any crew member violating the terms of the SO will be severely reprimanded."_

At that, their instructors, Sanghelli who would stay with them for the majority of their training, began entering their rooms to get them prepared. Not that they weren't already figuratively bouncing across the walls to get ready.

The marine got up and holstered the gun "Well, that's your lift. You better be ready Ghell, your Instructor won't be happy if you'll get left behind talking to an old man about firearms."

Ghell nodded and began running back to the others when a thought occurred to him. "I apologize, but I don't recall getting your name?"

He waved it off "Doesn't matter kid, you won't be seeing me again." As the door opened and closed behind him.

The Sanghelli cocked his head slightly, the universal sign of confusion. How would he have even known who he was? He was wearing a helmet with a black visor after all, like all the other marines guarding them. After a while, passed it from his mind and went back to his brothers. He never saw the human ever again.

* * *

Halsey stood within another pristine white room, similar to all the other pristine white rooms within _Enclave_. It made her stomach queasy.

She had read the new procedures for the Spartan-IVs, and the first thing that struck her was 'Where did all these chemicals come from' so she dug. Got herself a Level 1 clearance, and read it. The reports made her sick, and only Lecter's words, and the information he gave her, insured she didn't expose the entire operation to the public.

The Galactic Empire. A tyrannical regime that was not only heavily militaristic, xenoist and in possession of a huge war machine but, considering Gray Team's interactions with them, extremely advanced. Typical infantry armor could successfully deflect normal ballistics weaponry, ships armed with weaponry that could burn through Titanium-A in milliseconds, and Fleets spanning in thousands. The potential for chaos should they be aware of the UNSC would be...uncomfortable to contemplate.

Still, that wasn't what Lecter, and by extension ONI and the UNSC was most disturbed off. If the UNSC launched invasions to topple every known organization that could pose a threat to the UNSC's existence, they wouldn't have made it pass the 21st century.

No, the real curiosity was that the Empire was made up of Humans. Or close enough. Dozens of theories sprang up overnight, and ONI wanted to figure out why. Even without the threat that the Empire was aware of their existence.

She sighed, which was really the only thing stopping her from leaving. Grey Team, while being remarkably stealthy, still cut a swath through the Empire's battalions. The reason they did was, typical of ONI, blacked out, but she knew some facts. That they had done it for some sort of Rebellion against the Empire which, if they were willing to sacrifice themselves for them, had excellent potential to topple the Empire.

Then there were the burns. The...thing that had caused it was...she saw the thing that had caused it, after seeing the combat videos that were recovered. A weapon capable of ripping through MJOLNIR shields and armor with one strike, reflexes faster than the Spartans, telekinetic abilities, judging from the fact that the all bones of...one of her Spartans were broken. Considering the augmentations should have made that impossible, ONI was understandably curious. Which made the new procedures painfully justifiable.

She saw the Sanghelli recruits coming in. In all honesty, she doubted she could completely forgive the Sanghelli for what they've done. Yes, they were mistaken, but they still took her Spartans from her. Which she couldn't totally forgive, though she could understand. Regardless, they were her's now. These Sanghelli, and she would insure that as few of them would die as she could.

She searched the crowd for...she didn't know what exactly. She had read all their files, each and every one of them. None of them really sprang up to her attention. Not like John, the leader of the Spartans and the luckiest one, or Linda, the nearly supernatural sniper of the group, or Kelly, the fastest Spartan in the batch, or-.

Halsey shook her head, unwilling to connect the Spartan-IIs with the new spartans. They would already be trying to live up to their predecessors, better not to make it worse.

Her ears registered silence, and she realized that the sanghelli were all gathered in the room already. She cleared her throat, finding it suspiciously dry all of a sudden, and began speaking.

"Welcome to System Incident Center 05, codenamed _Enclave_. My name is Dr. Catherine Halsey, Head of the Spartan-IV program. This is where you will live, sleep, learn, and train for the many years you will spend becoming a Spartan. The training will be difficult, and you may wish for the training to end. But let it be clear, you have a purpose. All of you are here for a purpose. Never doubt that."

"You will meet your fellow human recruits within 3 hours, and you will assemble here to do so. 5 hours from now will be the formal start of your training. To your left are the male quarters, to your right are the female quarters. Behind me, will be the quarters to where your Instructors will be, you will direct your queries to them. Behind you will be the entrance to the main base, and you will have limited access to it after your first training session. Now, do you have any questions whatsoever?"

There was silence at first, but then one of the Sanghelli came forward, shouldering past the others as she moved in front of the group. Halsey mentally went back to her files and remembered. Helian Jianee, parents dead after an Insurrectionist attack on the ship they were serving on. Quick and agile, with a natural grace that had caused her to be highlighted for the IAD Special Operations Corps, before the Spartan program took her.

She looked at the girl and nodded, "Yes Ms. Jianee? What would you like to say?"

She looked up at her, a little below a meter or so, and spoke. "Yes Doctor Halsey." she noted the slight distaste at the word doctor, and realized that doctors were looked down upon to the sanghelli. Changing now true, but still looked down upon. "You spoke of a purpose, but you have not said what this purpose is. I would like you to clarify what that is exactly."

Halsey tried, and failed, to suppress a small smile. "You will find out eventually Ms. Jianee. Until then, would you please return to your fellows? I promise that you will figure this out eventually, but not until then."

A flash of petulant annoyance briefly showed on her face, reminding Halsey that she was still a child. "Understood Ma'am. I apologize for my petulance. I will return now." She began to turn, and Halsey couldn't help herself.

"There's no need to apologize Helian. You may ask me anything you want to."

She looked back at her and smiled, or at least Halsey think she smiled, and returned to her peers. They began to move and Halsey sighed mentally and gave up attempting to distance herself from the new recruits. It brought back to many memories, though she doubted that she was being completely objective about it. Perhaps she wanted to be close to the new recruits? A foolish thought, the mission would doubtlessly kill most, if not all of them.

She looked at the retreating recruits and hoped it wouldn't be as bad for them as her spar-...her previous spartans had it.

**

* * *

Heaven's Gate Site**

**Classified to all but Level 1 personnel and Section Overseers.**

███████ was discovered on April 2553, several months after the Covenant assault on the Ark Teleporter Array. It is theorized that either the subsequent glassing of Africa, or the Covenant assault on the Pacific-Atlantic ONI Site caused the anomaly. Regardless, architecture originating from ███████ was found in [Data Expunged]. Initial analysis shows architecture and building techniques were equivalent to [Data Expunged]. Investigation was then authorized by Director Holland Light.

███ kilometers away from the initial site was a [Data Expunged]. Initially, the reason for why it had remained hidden for so long was unknown. But recent discoveries in the ███████ site has given answers. It seems to be a more advanced form of [Data Expunged], reverse engineering has been successful, and is now being incorporated into several [Data Expunged].

Forces sent into the [Data Expunged] discovered Site ███████. An unknown event caused the deaths of all ██ personnel sent in within 3 minutes. Danger Level 7 declared, and priority to secure ███████ went into level Alpha-Epsilon. The Site was contained and awaited further orders.

On May 1, 2553. ██ Marines, ██ ODSTs and ██ scientific personnel were sent into ███████ to deploy a forward observation outpost. ██ personnel died before one could be set up, and remaining forces remained heavily entrenched, though █ more people died before [Data Expunged]. 2 variables identified, airborne drones serving as security and [Data Expunged]. Codenamed Tomatoes and Psychos, respectively. Danger Level increased to 8.2, and priority level increased to Alpha-Delta.

May 4, 2553. ███ Marines, ██ ODSTs and █ Spartan-IIIs armed with [Data Expunged] variants are sent into ███████ to discover extent of threat. ██ personnel die in completion of their mission, as well as █ Spartan-IIIs. New variable identified, codenamed Guardians which are [Data Expunged] codenamed Gatherers. Guardians are noted as extremely violent, killing one Spartan-III with a large [Data Expunged]. Such variants are called G-1s. An in depth identification of Guardian and Psycho types can be found in [Data Expunged]. Danger Level 9 is declared, and priority level Alpha-Alpha is declared.

June 13, 2553. The Hood-Light Amendment is passed, enabling full ONI resources be brought to bear. Operation SALVATION begins.

[Data Classified]

[Data Classified] chemical weapons are now too ineffective to be of any use, most [Data Expunged] adapted before all of them could die. Approximately 45% of all Psychos are dead, as well as 10% of all Guardians. Gatherers and Tomatoes unaffected. Guardians in constant Rage state. ███ total casualties.[Data Expunged] Solutions captured and held to discover [Data Expunged]. Combat operations cease while scientific personnel go through [Data Expunged].

[Data Classified]

[Data Classified] ██ personnel dead due to concentrated Psycho assault. Unknown number of Psychos eliminated. Presence of tactical mindset may hint to an intelligence behind the assault. Further investigation required.

[Data Classified] by order of Director Gabriel Lecter, all combat operations are to cease until a greater understanding of the Utopia Project enacted by ███████ inhabitants is gained. Genetic manipulation of ████ to more, healthy, manipulations with less side effects continue.

January 13, 2567. Utopia Project files discovered in the desk of Dr. ████. Concentrated dismantling of required facilities has begun, as well as the termination of subject designated Utopia-Alpha. Location of Utopia-Beta and Subject █████ unknown. Personnel above Level 2 are advised to go through the ████████ files during that era.

[Data Expunged]

April 17, 2567. Location of Utopia-Beta and Subject █████ found. Irrelevant. Long dead. Bodies taken for analysis. Location of Utopia-Prior still unknown, presumed dead. Location of descendants of the Gatherers Utopia-Prior saved unknown.

[Data Expunged]

[Data Expunged]

March 1, 2569. Gatherer-Prior descendant found. Died after [Data Expunged]. Subject's shouts seem to indicate awareness towards SALVATION, and said 'to burn that god-forsaken place to the ground.' Caused ██ deaths to ONI personnel in doing so. Genetic techniques confirmed to pass down to the descendants.

March 8, 2570. Utopia-Alpha begins [Data Expunged]. Use of MHE weapon authorized, all ONI personnel evacuated. Spartans IIIs and ODST personnel stay behind against orders to buy time. Weapon fires, and Utopia-Alpha confirmed dead. Multiple Psycho variants dead, excluding those taken in and protected for research purposes. Tomatoes still online. Guardians dead. Gatherers [Data Expunged], subjects taken in for study. █ personnel commit suicide.

March 13, 2570. Marines take control of ███████ central command center. Tomatoes now friendly. ███████ now under ONI control. SALVATION completed.

March 15, 2570. Reconstruction of ███████ considered and accepted. In-depth study of ███████ genetic technology begins.

June 21, 2572. Heaven's Gate Site completed. Full schematics on page [Data Expunged]

October 13, 2575. Replication of ███████ genetic technology partially successful. The more extreme variants still unstable. Further research required.

November 5, 2584. Suggestion to use ███████ techniques on new Spartan-IVs. Request pending authorization from the Director.

November 10, 2584. Consideration to apply ███████ techniques on Spartan-IVs accepted. Note by attached.

_Note: Director, it is my duty to inform you that the inherent instability of ████ means that use of the technology will still herald risks. However, this only applies to the more, extreme, use of ████. Increased physical strength, intelligence, agility, etc. They can be applied with no side effects and only minor addiction. Like cigarettes. We can begin any time you want, as well as the controls you requested. The words are [Data Expunged]._

**

* * *

Author's Notes**

Let it be known that there is a reason I brought Bioshock into all this.

Now, as a conversation I had with Dusel a month or so ago, I must say this. Spartans, when faced with a _competent_ Jedi or Sith, die. There are no saving throws, no _Deus Ex Machinas_, no fairy to save them. They die. Superhuman strength, speed, agility whatever means nothing to a being that can grab you in the force and swing you around like a rag doll. Even without that, said being could squash a Spartan's heart and then it dies. So fics where Spartans defeat Vader with courage and yadda yadda yadda kind of annoy me just a bit.

So in this fic, Spartans have both technology and superior genetics on their side, literally. Limited teleportation with either the aid of technology or genetics (Houdinis). Strength and speed beyond that of a Spartan-II. Weapons which have gone through a few evolutionary leaps and voila! You can fight better when Vader inevitably chokes you to death.

*Looks at preceding paragraphs*

Since I sound like a bit of a jerk, let me clarify. You can't beat force powers. A force user can sense where you will strike, fire lightning from their hands, telekinetically break bones from a distance, know what your thinking, and knows when your thinking of how unfair this all is at several dozen meters. A competent one anyway. Under competent ones will die like a bunny in a slaughterhouse, not that there's a lot of incompetent force users that are still alive in the Empire, while over-competent ones will eventually resort to calling themselves General 'Oh Shit' to make things easier for everyone.

While this won't mean Spartans will automatically die, it does mean that Spartans will have a...desperate time facing off against a Dark Lord of the Sith. Especially if I go through with my thought of ramping up force powers to Force Unleashed levels. Not sure yet though.

Another thing I'm going to say here are the System Incident Centers. I will only say a few things about them, since i'll explain more in the next chapter. One, some of them will serve as the flagships of the Halo invasion fleet. Two, there are roughly 26 of them either in existence, or being built. Three, concerning power, there are no hard facts for either Covenant or Forerunner power sources, and since we know how high their tech is, 24/7 for several lifetimes isn't that far fetched, considering the reactor powering Raven Rock is one of the best.

A full list of the System Incident Centers, and an explanation on what the hell they are, will be provided on the next chapter.

*Looks at paragraphs again.*

Okay, I swear this is the second to the last one. For any of you thinking just how exactly the UNSC can afford to build so many of these pretty little death machines, I would state the following facts.

The Pacification War barely touched the UNSC, which was busy invading Forerunner sites through the database at Onyx while the Sanghelli and Jirilhanae were busy trying to kill each other. This led to Humanity gaining more and more technology, and while a good deal of civilian applications still resemble Great War level tech, military technology is set on breaking bones, as the modified ODPs are.

When it did touch the UNSC, as in the Borealis Incident, ONI made large shows of propaganda showing 'Yes, those alien bastards will pay for doing that!' when in reality they basically used that as an excuse to send in ships to find more Forerunner sites deeper into Sanghelli and Jirilhanae territory, like the Halo Arrays, which Humanity more or less controls. In that scenario, Humanity let Sanghellis fight the Jirilhanae, and then capture a Forerunner site while they were both busy.

Of the 26 existing SI Installations, 10 of them are still under construction, while the rest are either in stasis or in standby. Not all of them are prepared to bring Fleets to their knees, some are specialized superweapons (Under construction), some are research bases, others are for more, specialized, purposes. Of the 5 currently active, only Raven Rock is an Assault variant, Enclave is more the control all of them, 2 are research vessels, and the other analyzes both civilian and government communications Big Brother-style but this is ONI we're talking about, it's practically a given.

Final note, Bioshock is (probably) not the only universe I'm beating into the Halo-SW verse. Consider any reference to anything sci-fi suspect.


	7. Inducement: Part 2: Anomalies

******Disclaimer**: Both Halo and Star Wars franchises do not belong to me. The Halo series belongs to Bungie, or 343 Industries which Bungie created to take care of the Halo franchise. Star Wars belongs to Lucasarts in turn. Any other Franchise I will add to this story will also not be made by me, and I will acknowledge them in turn.

* * *

Forward Notes

THERE WAS NOTHING HERE.

Any talk about unrealistic yields concerning faster than light kinetic projectiles is obviously a product of your own deluded thinking and should be reported to the nearest thought control center (I.E a good fan fic) as soon as possible.

Seriously though, I apologize for the lack of logic on my part.

* * *

** Si vis pacem, para bellum** -_If you want peace, prepare for the war._

UNSC Supercarrier _The Emissary of a Vacuous Matron_

**December 18, 2584**

Vice Admiral Marcus Coleman was funny when in a good mood, caring in most moods, ruthless in others, and scary when angry. All of these moods were something each and every one of his crew members were familiar with, having served with him since becoming Rear Admiral during the dawn of the Pacification War, so they had expected him to rage like he had never before, and were suitably frightened by it.

What they didn't expect, was him being silent. Which, as they found out, was even _more _terrifying.

The shattered remnants of New Babel lay before him, 2 Super MAC rounds and a Federation Supercarrier embedded into it's surface. While Super MAC rounds have been used many times during the Great War, none of them had ever fired onto a celestial object. Theories and holographic representations have been made, all theoretical, but all based upon existing figures.

New Babel was a little larger than Mars, with a Diameter of 6,980 kilometers. Each of the 3 three thousand ton tungsten/depleted uranium round was accelerating at a little over 20,000 kilometers a second, the impact with _An Exquisite End_ having roughly the same effect to the planet. The MAC rounds caused entire continental plates to crack in and move with forces seen only when New Babel was still young. Hundreds of tons of rock were pushed past the stratosphere by the forces involved, and lava swept openly across the plane for the first time in millennia. The atmosphere voided itself as the planet's instability made it impossible for the planet to keep it's lifeline, and millions would die as they suffocated from the sudden lack of air. The population of New Babel was 78 million.

The effects of New Babel's destruction would be wide and varied. Politicians would use New Babel as a useful point for whatever idea they wish to push. The economy would balance itself out from the loss of a major exporter of, not only fine wine, but rare fruits, herbs and oils lost since the glassing of Africa affected the ecological stability of Earth severely enough that some species were rapidly going extinct. Military analysts would go through all the available recordings of the battle to figure out just what went wrong. But that would be months, maybe years, into the future. So, for the moment, it was irrelevant.

What was relevant was that the Insurrectionists who had instigated the massacre were gone. Navigations reported that slipspace ruptures were detected several minutes ago, roughly a dozen or more ships. Navigations reported that, roughly 1.46 minutes after the Supercarrier had hit the planet, further increasing their guilt.

Coleman looked to the holographic console in front of him. The AI had been staying still for a while now. The, he honestly couldn't find a better word to describe it, dark tendrils were moving serenely in the dark green glow afforded by the AI's core. It seemed to look back at him and, after a full second of mental communication, began to disappear. Accomplishing this by using a fairly impressive animation of it receding into the singularity within it's center, then simply disappearing from the console.

Coleman stood up, the motion causing most of the bridge crew to jump in their seats. The Vice Admiral looked at them bemusedly, "Relax, I'm not about to go into a blood rage and go after the Insurrectionists that have done this." He frowned slightly, somewhat disturbed that his crew reacted even more worrisomely over his statement, his Comms Officer in particular looked like she was about to faint.

He shrugged it off "Carriers may begin attempting to initiate rescue operations. UNSC Supercarrier _Scream into the Dark_ will deploy Pelicans to areas of the planet still geologically stable, or not overflowing with lava. Also advise them to deploy Cryo Bombs at their discretion. Supercarrier _For the Reunion_ is to gather everything else _Scream into the Dark _does not require for retrieval operations, and is to search the system for any remaining Insurrectionist forces. Get some Federation assistance as well, I'm sure some of them will be more than willing to help."

Coleman nodded to them and began to move towards the door "Tell them I'm not to be disturbed by anyone except by members of the Admiralty, or the heads of any organization with the letter O as the first letter in their Acronym." He was about to leave when, as an afterthought, he said

"Tell me when you eventually find old Dell would you?"

He doubted there would be anyone left to save, but it wasn't useless to hope for a miracle. Stranger things have happened after all, the Great War being one.

The trip to his quarters was short and uneventful, the slivery walls seemingly teleporting him to his cabin several dozen meters away from the bridge. Crew members knowing of what happened moving clear away from him and those who didn't keeping their distance out of respect. He entered his quarters, and closed the door.

Coleman considered himself a man of good taste, though his guests would say otherwise. A near accurate guess of his quarters would be a neat mix of every culture that was ever dominant within Humanity. A mix of Renaissance Italy and Post WW2 era American culture. On the far end of the 10 x 10 x 10 meter room was a flat screen television, stuck to the walls with a particularly strong adhesive (as with everything else in the room) and capable of surfing any channel, both UNSC and Federation. On the exact opposite side was a large bed, Queen-sized, with champagne on the side. Beyond that though, there was very little else. The room was sparse, with a simple blue-white motif that was the new symbol of the UNSC. There was a chair, closer to both the tv, and the holographic display in the middle of the room. At the same time, there was a bottle of whiskey next to the chair, a descendant of the long celebrated reclining chairs (Lazy boys apparently), which was all that took to really seal the deal.

So Coleman took the vintage bottle of red wine, coincidentally originating from New Babel as well, poured himself a glass, drank from it, sat on his very nice reclining chair and waited for all of exactly 2 minutes before the screaming began.

"GOD DAMMIT! You come out here right now you insufferable, arrogant lump of neurons and system code, or I'll get data scavengers to activate and hunt you down like the heartless machine that you really are! Come out NOW!"

Three seconds later. "Okay, I know that this seems like a Huuuugggggeeee mistake but it's really not that bad."

"Not that bad?" Coleman snorted, as he started drinking the wine straight from the bottle "An entire planet has been ripped to several very large portions, it's atmosphere is fucked up and I'm quite sure that the lava spewing out from within the core would be quite dangerous too any humans left alive! How is any of that not that bad! Now, you tell me right now who the hell you are, and what the hell you were doing. Right. Now."

The AI looked at him for a few seconds, then said very quietly "Why should I Vice Admiral?" The green spiraling around the AI slowly receding until all that was left was a black void, with a bright green light in the middle "Why should I tell you anything? Why should I give you anything? You've served your purpose as the Fleet that tried, and failed, to defend New Babel. Your part in this productions is very limited now. Some would say, a loose end."

Coleman raised his eyebrows, drank from the bottle again and laughed "What would you do then? Kill me? Blow up the ship? If I'm right, and I think I am, then you and your master plotted New Babel to die. With the planet destroyed by the Insurrectionists, there would be no way the public wouldn't want those responsible to pay. All that's left is to tell them about it, and let it fly. The death of both the Supreme Commander, and a Vice Admiral, would be the icing on the cake. Right?"

The AI's aura suddenly increased to full green again. "Of course not Vice Admiral! While you are right, that New Babel was convenient, we did not plan for the entire planet to die. Maybe a fourth of it's population to be sure, but not all of it! It is a mistake I will not be making again."

Coleman drank again "So, you haven't answered my question, who are you?"

"I am Necessary Vice Admiral, as you will see in the future."

The human screamed exasperatedly and reclined on his chair. "Dammit. You even SOUND like the arrogant prick. 'You will understand soon.' Or 'It is not your place' or 'The soda bottle will be your undoing!' always with the arrogance!. You couldn't have said that you were with Lecter anymore than if you had a name tag on and sang poems in his name. I know who you work for, easy enough. But what are you."

The AI paused for half a second, and laughed. A strange, mechanical sound more in common with a weapons factory than anything from a human. "Very nice Vice Admiral, it seems that the Director was right about you after all. All right, let me be polite now."

"My name is 001 Genuine Cosine, first of the Reach-class AIs, as you undoubtedly have guessed by now. I am here, among other things, to give you a place among the First Intergalactic Exploratory/Invasion Force."

Coleman looked at the machine for a few moments, then said quietly. "I see. Lecter's greed finally made him mad then. To take on the universe, when our own insignificant plot of land still hasn't been taken yet? Madness. I will have no part of it."

Genuine shrugged "As of this second...everyone. The United Earth Government has given it's support to BERMUDA. The UNSC fully backs ONI with the introduction of several files. The Federation and the IAD in turn, have been amassing their forces. Certain aspects o-"

The human waved his free hand, the other clenched to one of the last bottles of wine from a dead world "Now, why should I do this? If you are what I think you are, then you have no need of an old man like me. Choose someone else to commit whatever atrocities you would have me do, leave me out of this."

The AI made a tsking sound "It does not work that way Vice Admiral. You, despite the appearance of affability and kindness you give to your men, are as cruel and ruthless as my Master, both from your actions during the Pacification War, and ONI's psychological profile on you. Resourceful too, as I believe you knew about the Doisac Decimation a full month before it happened, judging from the large amounts of scotch and whiskey you ordered to your room during that time. You are a moral man, willing to do immoral things to safeguard Humanity, which is why we here at ONI would like to offer you a position on BERMUDA."

"BERMUDA this, BERMUDA that, I don't really give a fuck Cosine. I am not touching BERMUDA with a 20 foot pole. I know about the Reach-class AIs Cosine, I saw it when the original designs were based on the Contender-classes, and I certainly didn't like it. But I said to myself 'Oh, Lecter certainly won't have an excuse to manufacture these monsters, I won't bother it then BAM! Here's one right before my very eyes. So no. Whatever excuse you have for me, you can go shove it up your wherever you machines crap from anyway. Now get the hell out of my room."

Coleman collapsed even further into his chair, nursing the bottle like he used to do with his firstborn child. Genuine continued to look at him, emitting a subtle drumming noise, which had 4 beats before repeating itself all within a second. Tip-tap-tip-tap. Tip-tap-tip-tap. Tip-tap-tip-tap. Tip-tap-ti-

"Would you stop it with that noise?" Coleman grumbled as he continued holding onto the wine, "Bad enough that Lecter made you abominations, he inserted a sense of humor as well? That man's a monster I say, a true monster."

The machine laughed again. "I'm sorry Vice Admiral, that is somewhat improper concerning our current predicament. But, may I assume that you know what BERMUDA is about?"

"I'm old machine, not deaf or blind. Increased weapons and ship manufacturing, at least 150% within the past month, ostensibly with the purpose of ridding the Insurrectionist threat. Rumors of Grey Team being recovered. ONI mobilizing every asset they have. Halsey, of all people, joining up with you again...Yes, I can guess. Military mobilization of the scale you're planning, and ultimately getting, means fleets. Lots of fleets. Since you mentioned the Federation and the IAD is with you as well, it also means that it's not a move against them. So...it's either a defensive move, or an offensive move. Since you haven't said anything to the public, it's probably not a defensive move. The panic that would ensue would allow you to get away with anything. So...an offensive action?"

Genuine emitted a clapping noise "Very good Herr Admiral, very good. Yes, it's an offensive action, to insure a defensive action is never required. Ender-style stratagem really."

Coleman huffed "What exactly would this threat be then hmm?.."

The AI shrugged "A totalitarian Empire spanning an entire galaxy a considerable distance away. Why?"

Coleman looked at the AI. "Hmm...close but...no. An Empire would mean that it has the possibility of finding, and taking us over. At the same time, the word Empire would mean a force of Order which..ah fuck it. I'm too drunk to think straight, but the answer is still no. Try again, last chance."

Cosine seemed to sigh "Very well Vice Admiral..._Center-17 _is gone. Compromised. We're not sure what, and we're not sure why, but we can't afford a war on two fronts."

That stopped Coleman, he turned to look at the AI with careful consideration in his eyes and said "Are you sure? I'll only learn ab-"

"Completely." Cosine seemed to nod "All hands gone, presumed dead. Remnants of ships and species most definitely not friendly. But...you knew that the moment I told you, didn't you? That it has been breached?"

Coleman remained quiet. The AI seemed to speak with a more sinister tone.

"You were given the rank of Rear Admiral for your acts during the Pacification War but you only became Vice Admiral when you suppressed the Anderson-Bolias anomaly. You lost more than 90% of your forces trying to force it closed, and of the men assigned to you to hunt those that escaped, 80% came back alive, with the rest wishing they were. You know what would happen if it got released. Billions would die, and ONI would be forced to initate an Omega-Omega threat scenario, killing everyone else to insure the rest of the anomalies hidden across the galaxy would die along with the A-B variant. Now, will you help us bring this Empire to it's knees, and thereafter kill whatever resides in that Hell? Or not?"

The wine bottle broke, spilling wine all over Coleman's clothes, and stinging his hand terribly. But the man still looked at the AI with disgust. "Damn you. Damn you for this. I swear machine, that I won't forget this...That's how you reeled Halsey in too, didn't you? The threat of something greater, then forcing us to do whatever you ask?"

Cosine shrugged "Yes. It's proven quite effective so far."

"...fine. Now get out."

Cosine nodded "Very well. Also, your ally, the Supreme Commander, has been found. He managed to escape destruction through an innovative use of slipspace jumps and his escape pod. I would like for you to recruit him as well. He would be a valuable ally."

Coleman merely threw the remains of the bottle towards the AI, hitting nothing as the AI disappeared. He could swear he heard it laughing.

* * *

**Enclave Module 07  
November 17, 2584  
**

The first thing he did was figure out all avenues of retreat, and how best to mount an effective offense against potential boarders. As it turned out, the humans had already marked that out for them, placing a sign that explicitly stated that this was a good fall back position in the hallway outsider their rooms. It even included the best way to secure the position (as it turned out, the metal that made up their bunks, tables and chairs could be fitted together and placed outside the hallway to act as cover against ballistics fire and limited plasma fire.). This annoyed him to a certain degree.

The next thing he did was to find the best way to set traps to their location, to insure the maximum amount of damage towards opposing forces. However, it also turns out that the humans had already dealt with that. There were small traps hidden everywhere, involving water from the doorways, showers that inexplicably turned blisteringly hot, and other irritants. Upon hindsight, Ghell admitted that it was a way to make the recruits more observant and suspicious of their surroundings. He could accept that, and redacted his former statement against the humans.

The third thing to do was to create back-up plans for any scenario they were liable to come across. As it turned out, there were already contingency plans written on the walls. Ranging from fires, boarders, unknown alien species, and something called zombies which, quite glaringly, was the most extensive and well written. He made a mental note to research on what exactly a zombie _was_ that required so many specific instructions.

So it was the Ghell had absolutely nothing to do. All of the above should have insured them being busy for the rest of the day, but now that that was done, they had nothing to do, an alien concept to the normally active and morose Sanghelli.

He tried exercising, but that only wiped out the first 30 minutes. He knew that they would have to work with the humans, so he had to conserve his stamina. He looked for human histories and battles, but there were only limited amounts, and those that were had been taken by more academically inclined sanghelli the moment they had entered. As it was, they were busy reading about a human called Caesar, difficult to roll in the Sanghelli tongue, and his Empire. Reading about his works, he felt a certain amount of respect from the human field marshall.

So eventually, he was left with nothing to do. He decided, out of curiosity, to talk that female, Helian Jianee. He felt no compulsion to do so of course, simply that they had been grouped into the same room and he felt it an imperative to communicate with his roommates.

He found her seating at the upper bunk of the 6th bed, an accepted location of power for the hierarchic sanghelli. She was as she had been when he last saw her, slender in comparison to normal sanghelli, and somewhat small, but the amber in her eyes hinted that she was not to be trifled with, and her body count proved it. She had already beaten off 3 challengers to her place, all of whom suitably chastised at such an ignominious defeat. He decided, uncharacteristically quickly, to challenge her.

Helian Jianee herself was sitting on her bunk, her legs swinging up and down as they dangled from the bed as she hummed a tune which, as Ghell came closer, he realized to be a nursery rhyme. Confident of his chances, he moved in front of the bunk and challenged her.

"I, Ghell Ladamee of the 153rd Sanghellios Training Facility, challenge you to the right to claim the upper bunk of bed complex number 6 as your place of rest!"

The female seemed to stare at him and responded, in a confidant voice "I, Helian Jianee of the 43rd New Babel Training Facility, accept your challenge." She then proceeded to jump of her bed, somewhat clumsily he noticed, and brought herself to a battle stance.

Ghell had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that there was something wrong. But ignored it as he turned his right palm into a fist and struck it towards her face, seeking to end the battle quickly.

In a swift move, she grabbed the fist at the wrist and used her knee to hit him in the chest. Ghell gasped due to the sudden pain and didn't see the open hand palm hit him at the back, causing him to fall down. He felt the female put her knee to his shoulder, and destabilized her by using his feet to jump towards her, a difficult move to be true, but worth it.

His superior strength and weight got her to stagger and fall down, which he used to his advantage. Though he had not been taught any moves in particular, he did concentrate his weight to Jianee's back, forcing her to be pinned down.

A move which, now that he thought about it, did nothing to stop her arms from scratching and her legs from kicking. Moving to insure the protection of his more valuable assets, Jianee took advantage of the movement to twist, causing him to fall down to where he was moving towards, and successfully pinning his arms as she breathed into his ears. "Yield."

Ghell gasped back "I Yield."

She immediately let go, turning to her side and gasping for breath. He did as well, his skill with wrestling the same as her lack of truly physical strength. After a while, she spoke.

"A good match. Your opening move left much to be desired, I could see the punch coming from several meters away."

Ghell was incensed "Ha! If you truly knew what you were talking about, you would not have left me tackle you!"

Jianee snorted "Your overprotectiveness towards your parts allowed me victory Ladamee, and your inexperience with wrestling also aided in your defeat..."

Three hours later, when the humans came for them, Ghell could swear in all honesty that he thought they were only talking for 10 minutes.

* * *

System Incident Centers

The System Incident Centers, or the SI Centers for short, are a collection of ONI/UNSC Installations, secret to all except Level 1 personnel, and even then, none except the head of the UNSC, the UEG and ONI knows what each of them are meant to do.

What they are meant to do is, as Director Holland Light said as he proposed their creation, was 'To guard Humanity from the threat of slavery, extinction, or worse.' To be invested with the most advanced technology available, to be manned by the most fanatically loyal to the _Humanity First_ policy, and, above all, willing to sacrifice everything, their reputations, their sanities, their lives if need be, to insure that the UNSC will not fall to the alien threat ever again. While not fully reaching these optimistic expectations, the crews of the SI Centers were very close to it.

They, contrary to the beliefs of the lesser ranked ONI personnel, were not engines of mass destruction, not all of them in any case. Some existed to research on an obscure, but vital, topic. Some were not to even do anything unless special conditions are met. Others had more secret and dangerous assignments, known only to the Director.

As of January 1, 2585, 26 SI Centers were either in existence, or in construction. Or, that is what is believed by most. For the safety of all, _Center-17_ was to stay on the public records as active, much like the Spartans before them. But not for morale, but because of the circumstances of it's destruction.

Below is the list of all SI Centers built or under construction by the time BERMUDA was in full swing.

**Afterlife Center  
**_Designation:_ Military Command and Assault Platform  
_Status: _Under Construction. ETC is 2630.  
_Objective: _In the event of the complete domination of the Sol System, UNSC High Command is to use _Center-01_ for their Command Center. _Afterlife_ is to allow High Command to operate military forces any independent action they wish. However, certain commands will initiate immediate crew liquidation. Said commands are only known to members  
of HIGHCOM and ONI's current Director.

**Bane Center  
**_Designation:_ Planetary Destroyer System  
_Status: _Standby.  
_Objective: _In the event of an Upsilon-Omega UO-1 variation were to occur, _Center-02_is to transit to Sanghellios, Balaho, Te, Palamok, Eayn, and Doisac to terminate both the planet's population, and it's capacity to support life. Once completed, _Bane_ is to withdraw and await further orders from _Enclave._

**Cabal Center**  
_Designation: _ONI Communications Analyzation Installation  
_Status: _Active  
_Objective: Center-03_ is to analyze all civilian information traffic, military communications, and all Section-6 surveillance units attached to both civilian and military hardware for potential threats to the stability of the UNSC.  
_Note: In addition to the original Objective, Center-03 has been drafted into BERMUDA to track down any information_ _breaches concerning the operation. _

**Daedalus Center**  
_Designation:_ Military Assault Platform  
_Status: _Standby.  
_Original Objective:_ To locate Spartan II 117-'John'. Completed.  
_Current Objective: Center-04 _is to only be activated should Insurrection within UNSC colonies is severe enough that current forces cannot be redirected to take part without compromising BERMUDA. _Daedalus _is to destroy all Insurrectionist Bases  
already discovered which, as of time of writing, is precisely 70% of their current strength.  
_Future Objective:_ Drafted to take part in BERMUDA as a Flagship.

**Enclave Center **  
_Designation:_ Command and Control Center/Research Base/ONI Stronghold  
_Status: _Active.  
_Primary Objective: _In the event of all UNSC Colonies being destroyed, _Enclave_ is given full control to all Centers and will dictate the terms of engagement concerning opposing forces. Suggestion to use Location Sagittarius A West for an Omega-class scenario fallback position is pending.  
_Current Objective_: Drafted to take part in BERMUDA.

**Foundation Center  
**_Designation:_ Military Assault Platform/Research Base  
_Status: _Standby.  
_Objective: _In the event of confirmed alien contact, _Center-06_ is to handle diplomatic actions with the new species, but only in secret. In the event of confirmed hostilities brought about by the aliens, then _Foundation_ is to contact ROU-004, ROU-073, ROU-140 for possible assistance. Upon liquidation of aliens, they are to locate any examples of  
their technology to ascertain their location of the Technological Tier Level. Termination or amalgamation into the Federation if below Humanity's level, and destruction of their entire species and capture of their tech if otherwise. Information will be handed to ONI and command of the scenario be publicly given to a prepared patsy.

**Guardian Center  
**_Designation:_ Military Assault Platform-Defense Variant  
_Status: _Under Construction. ETC is 2602  
_Objective: _In the event of a concentrated attack upon Onyx, _Center-07_ will be activated. It will activate the teleportation within Onyx and stall for time before Onyx can transit to ███████. If _Center-07 _is still active by the confirmation of it's primary objective,  
it is to withdraw and await further commands from _Enclave._

**Hades Center**  
_Designation:_ Research Base  
_Status:_ Active  
_Objective: _To discover an absolute means of containing or destroying the Flood lifeform that does not involve the use of the Halo Arrays. Flood specimens within the facility are to be kept at standard experimental temperature as dictated by the Forerunner experimental safety procedures. Any attempt in breaking containment, weaponization of the Flood lifeform or bringing _Center-08_ out of it's current location before an alternative means has been found will result in _Hades_ activating it's on site NOVA bombs, and the person attempting the breach, if still alive, be hunted down by IAD and ONI operatives.

**Infernal Center **  
_Designation:_ Military Assault Platform/Planetary Destroyer Platform  
_Status: _Under Construction. ETC is 2605  
_Objective: _In the event of an Upsilon-Omega Class threat UO-2 variation is confirmed, then _Center-09_ is to selectively destroy planets where the largest density of insurrectionists and rebels would reside, as commanded by _Enclave_.

**Jigsaw Center**  
_Designation:_ Scientific Observation and Research Base  
_Status: _Under Construction. ETC is 2600  
_Objective: Center-10 _is to hold all relevant information concerning the Forerunner artifacts and Installations located from through examination of the Onyx database. It is also to experiment with highly sensitive subjects, such as use of Forerunner files on human and alien biology to force obedience through stimulation of certain cerebral factors, as seen through the Saxon Studies. It also holds permanent experimentation for the **[Data Unavailable]. **Any data collected by _Center-11 _is to be analyzed at _Center-10_ in case the former is destroyed.

**Kaleidoscope Center  
**_Designation:_ Military Assault Platform/Research Base  
_Status: _Active.  
_Objective: Center-11 _is to observe and study the Installation discovered nearby Sagittarius A*, hereby known as the Sagittarius Installation. _Center-11_'s presence is justified due to _Incident Sagittarius-Battle Group Zenith _wherein **[Data Unavailable]. **It is now known that the Sagittarius Installation, holds an extremely high level of technology, which had caused the seemingly impossible feats observed during the incident. Examples of observed phenomenon is a form of gravity manipulation (Supercarrier Ulysses being crushed into the density of a Neutron Star and **[Data Expunged]** causing considerable damage.), mental assaults through **[Data Unavailable]** that resulted in 70% of the Battle Groups to turn on each other), weaponry capable of ripping apart material to their base molecules, **[Data Unavailable]**, MAC rounds directed towards the Installation disappeared and **[Data Expunged]** a form of teleportation, more casualties**. **More examples of Sagittarius technology is shown at **[Data Expunged]** As of yet, entrance into the installation is theoretically possible, as the Installation only attacks when hostile intent is sensed. Remnants of both Forerunner, **[Data Unavailable]** and Flood infested ships, with technology far beyond the Forerunners, hint that the Installation belonged to the Precursors. In-depth study is required. Battle Group Deceiver is stationed to defend the system, and to insure no one discovers the Installation.

**Legion Center  
**_Designation:_ Mobile Assault Platform-Precision:Infiltration Variant  
_Status: _Under Construction. ETC is 2612  
_Previous Objective: _For use in high risk operations where standard ODST forces are inadvisable due to lack of efficiency and when an objective is marked Level 1 or above. _Center-12_ is designed to infiltrate and deploy specialized forces into any and all feasible locations where infantry may conceivably combat in.  
_Current Objective:_ Drafted into BERMUDA

**Machiavelli Center  
**_Designation:_ Military Assault Platform/Chemical Warfare System  
_Status: _Under Construction. ETC is 2610  
_Objective: _In the event of a Theta-Omega Class scenario, _Center-13_ is to be activated. If previous organic samples have been taken, then _Center-13_ is to administer chemical weapons to all opposing worlds. Said worlds will then be put into quarantine as soon as all opposing Fleet elements have been neutralized. Expected time for such an attack to leave behind no harmful effects ranges from 80-560 years. Planets are, invariably, left barren and unfit for life even with Forerunner terraforming abilities.  
_Special Note: Suggestion to use Machiavelli in BERMUDA is pending._

**Nostradamus Center  
**_Designation:_ Information Storage Vessel  
_Status: _Standby  
_Objective: _In the event of an Omega-Omega extinction event, the _Nostradamus_ is to accompany _Center-23. Center-13_ holds the entire collected knowledge of the human race since it has been possible to record it. Music, culture, history, technology, etc. all information will then be given to the inhabitants of _West Wind_ and the _Nostradamus_ rendered into both a Library and use of their drives as a power supply.

**Operator Center  
**_Designation: _ONI Infiltration and Assault Platform  
_Status: _Under is 2616  
_Primary Objective: Center-15 _is ONI's Command and Control center should one of the Omega Scenarios be confirmed. In this event, _Operator_ is to infiltrate behind enemy lines and gather intel, as well as selectively destroying key facilities with NOVA bombs and population centers with the MHE weapon.  
_Current Objective: _Drafted into BERMUDA.

**Pizzicato Center**  
_Designation: _Stealth Platform/Supernova Inhibitor  
_Status: _Standby.  
_Primary Objective: _In the event of an Upsilon-Omega UO-3 variation Threat which involves violation of _Center-05_, or a Delta-Omega scenario, _Center-16_ is to be activated. They are to transit to the Damcoles-Kurpa system and annihilate _Center-05 _and anything around it.

**Quintus Ennius Center**  
_Designation:_ Military Assault Platform  
_Status: _Unknown/Presumed Lost with all onboard  
_Original_ _Objective: _To suppress the threat originating from the Anderson-Bolias anomaly. Threat must remain within the Anderson-Bolias system until proper countermeasures have been found. Any attempt to enter the system, by any ship, will be destroyed.  
**Addendum: **On August 01, 2581, contact with _Center-17_ has been lost. A final transmission had been sent to _Center-03 _ confirmed to have originated from _Center-17._ Contents of the message has been brought to Level-1 clearance.

**[Data Unavailable-Refer to Incident Center-17:Anderson-Bolias Anomaly]**

Battle Group Goliath reports that the Anomaly is secured shut, 3 hours after the event, _Center-17 _missing butevidence around the anomaly suggests **[Data Expunged].** Containment procedures has proven to be temporary, liquidizing itself in 200-250 years. Steps are being considered.

**Raven Rock Center**  
_Designation:_ Military Assault Platform  
_Status: _Standby.  
_Objective: _In the event that conventional UNSC forces are insufficient in an engagement, and that said engagement is at least a Level 1 priority, _Center-18_ is to solve the problem. With extreme prejudice.  
Current Objective: Drafted into BERMUDA.

**Salve Regina Center  
**_Designation:_ Military Command and Assault Platform  
_Status: _Under Construction. ETC is 2608  
_Objective: _To act as Tacitus' main base of operations. _Center-19_ is to only be sent on missions important to the survival of mankind in it's current form. Any requisition for _Center-19's _forces to reenact the Terminator series, by ONI operatives or Tacitus itself,  
is to be denied on basic principle. It is part of BERMUDA.

**Tabula Rasa Center**  
_Designation:_ Military Assault Platform/[Data Expunged]  
_Status: _Standby.  
_Objective: Center 20 _is to observe the spatial anomalies located in the Hercules and Syrian the event of a Psi-Omega Class threat from any of them, _Center-20 _is to use all available forces to eliminate or contain the anomaly. HIGHCOM is to give all necessary resources to _Center-20 _to fulfill the objective. If containment is successful, then observation is to be handed over to _Center-10. _If containment is not possible, or the anomaly cannot be destroyed, an Omega-Omega scenario is to be declared, and affected areas purged of life through the use of the Halo Arrays as well as anything within 17 million lightyears.

**Ultima Thule Center**  
_Designation:_ Military Assault Carrier/Artificial Platform Constructor  
_Status: _Active  
_Primary Objective: _**[Data Unavailable]**  
_Current Objective: _Drafted into BERMUDA.

**Valiant Center**  
_Designation:_ Military Assault Platform/Research Base  
_Status: _Active  
_Objective: _Due to the hostility observed from the planet designated _Marker_ in the Gioban System, all military and civilian starships are not to enter the System under any circumstances. _Center-22_ is currently in command of a small defensive force, to insure minimum levels of infestation. _Marker_ species seems to be incapable of space flight, and as long as the species is useful, if to stay that way. Genetic research from the species has yielded impressive results, but can be replaced by the Adam chemical without the unforeseen side effects. Unless new discoveries are made, _Center-18_ is to transit to the Gioban system to eliminate the threat.

**West Wind Center  
**_Designation:_ Population Re-seeder Ship  
_Status:_ Under Construction. ETC is 2610  
_Objective: _In the event of all SI Centers being neutralized, ███████ having been destroyed or uninhabitable, and/or an Omega-Omega scenario is declared, then _West Wind_ is to transit to the Andromeda Galaxy, locate a suitable planet, and colonize it. _Center-14_ will accompany _Center-23 _to provide proper societal reconstruction.

**Xanadu Center**  
_Designation:_ Terraformation and Solar/Terra Construction Base  
_Status: _Under Construction. ETC 2620  
_Objective: _In the event all UNSC Colonies are destroyed, UNSC Military Fleets are still relatively intact, and there are still enough humans to enable human survival, _Center-24_ is to either terraform an existing planet to support human life, or if all existing systems cannot be found, create a solar system capable of supporting human life. If sufficient human numbers are lacking, then _Center-24 _is to accompany _Center-23._

**Yajur Veda Center  
**_Designation:_ Military Assault Platform/Research Base  
_Status: _Active.  
_Objective: _To observe the Forerunner site on **[Data Unavailable] **within the Perseus arm, designated Perseus-20 Installation. Installation seems to involve manipulation of both the psychological manipulation of any and all species, but also the manipulation of space considered to be impossible. Examples of this include a fully armed group of UNSC marines being sent into the Installation, and coming out 1 hour later with **[Data Unavailable] **used weapons made out of their own **[Data Unavailable] **subject reported **[Data Unavailable]. **Words recorded and saved for analysis. Subject terminated. Attempts using alien species resulted in the same result. Successive groups seemingly in the same state as the previous, but somehow also managing to enter the Destroyer in orbit. Analysis of recording camera present indicated the marines **[Data Unavailable]** after Navigator Jionee ceased vomiting, it is evident that a wormhole seemed to have been formed between the doorway of **[Data Unavailable] **and the male restroom of the UNSC Destroyer _Never enough Firepower._ Experiments ceased and Battle Group Miranda stationed to protect the site and insure it's isolation, considering it's close proximity to the Sol System, and the fact that the insanity seems to be **[Data Expunged]**.

**Zenith Center  
**_Description: _Military Assault Carrier/Research Base  
_Status: Active_  
_Objective: Center-26 _serves two purposes. To hold all recovered Forerunner Warships, and to discover a way for humans to properly utilize these ships. Once a means of utilization has been discovered, _Zenith _is to **[Data Unavailable]**.  
_Current Objective: _Drafted into BERMUDA as soon as Warships are capable of use.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

I believe a clarification of intent is required.

When I said this was a multi-crossover, I meant this would be a multi-crossover. The current SW story here would likely stretch to 80 chapters or so at the very least. But that is not all there is.

Once I'm done with the SW arc, I will write another story, about some other universe this time, and start from where I left off. A century or 2 maybe.

But that's far off to the future, and quite ambitious considering SW hasn't even been mentioned yet. I'll have to remedy that sometime in the future don't I?


	8. Inducement: Part 3: Beginnings

**Disclaimer: **Both Halo and Star Wars franchises do not belong to me. The Halo series belongs to Bungie, or 343 Industries which Bungie created to take care of the Halo franchise. Star Wars belongs to Lucasarts in turn. Any other Franchise I will add to this story will also not be made by me, and I will acknowledge them in turn.

* * *

**Vitam impendere vero - **_To risk one's life for the truth_

**December 18, 2584**

**Ruins of New Babel**

**Escape pod Alpha : 687 kilometers away from _The Fleet of Tactical Consideration_**

Super MAC Guns, as the Covenant had found out much to their dismay, where monsters. Pure, unrelenting ship destroying monsters. A single round often bisected any ship caught in it's sight and the next one after that, with the Covenant's old tactics, that frequently meant a lot of dead sanghelli. While tactics could be changed to avoid the fearsome kinetic projectiles, ship technology was not nearly as flexible, with the Hiearchs commandment of non-alteration.

This was quickly, perhaps obscenely so, altered by the Sanghelli during the Pacification war, the war forcing them into a battle for survival not unlike the one they forced the humans into. They looked into shield technology, a minor hindrance to the Super MAC guns, as the kinetic energy transferred from the shell if it was successfully blocked would still cause grievous damage to the ship. They looked into stronger alloys, but the research quickly abandoned as the strain of researching new technologies while replenishing the sanghelli war machine against the Jirilhanae proved to be impractical.

So they focused on saving as many knowledgeable officers as they could. It was reasoned that, while the crew of the entire Supercarrier could find escape pods during an attack, one slug through the bridge, which was always in the middle, would wipe out an entire officers corps. So they installed a small slipspace engine by the bridge, lined the 30 x 30 x 50 meter pod with enough armor for it, and it's inhabitants, to survive the transition to slipspace for a fourth of a second , enough air and sustenance to last for several months, and electronics to give out a distress signal and some means of maneuvering and observing the surroundings. Additionally, it was designed to drop the pod anywhere within a 792km range around the destroyed Supercarrier. This, while saving a large amount of capable men, was cheap enough to mass produce for all Federation ships. This did not mean however, that the ride would be smooth. So Dell Vestemee's first thought was of pain. Not just normal 'Ow I stubbed my second jaw' kind of pain either, this was 'Ah GOD! My FACE!' kind of pain.

The Sanghelli, though use to this kind of pain from years of having Coleman as a partner, still felt it keenly in his bones as he started waking up from his coma. He blearily opened his eyes and saw what used to be his bridge before him.

It was in shambles. Normally, the bridge would be locked down through either magnetic locks, or anti-gravity stabilizers for an emergency jump, normally done before the battle. He had been cocky though, and hadn't ordered a full lockdown. As a result, only half of his crew had been strapped in, while everything else that wasn't bolted down wasn't suppressed.

As a result, half his crew was on the floor, presumably ridding their guts of the dinner that they had consumed not a few hours earlier. At least, that was he thought the green...mass, for lack of a better term, was on the floor next to them. The rest were strapped into their chairs, a wise precaution. All of them were unconscious, which wasn't surprising at all.

Dell, in turn, found himself several feet away from his command chair, extremely nauseated with a bump forming on the top of his head. He forced himself to stand, stumbling on the pieces of machinery and, apparently, his own vomit. How very nice. He made his way back to the chair, a short distance, and collapsed into it, groaning as he did.

He activated the command chair's primary control system, resulting in purple holographic symbols to appear in front of him. He confirmed that the escape pod was, more or less intact. The outer viewing window was breached, and so did not allow him to see the outside. The sensors were still largely intact, and Dell used it to figure out where the hell they were.

The results were disturbing. On the one hand, there were no enemy forces nearby, otherwise the sensors would tell him so. On the other hand, his sensors kept telling him that the entire fleet was in a panic, with ships from both sides circling New Babel...

Which was when he realized that, if all the ships were converging on the planet, then that meant his attempt to stop the MAC rounds failed. He tried not to think about it for the moment, his men were in danger, and it was very likely that they would die if they weren't rescued soon. He couldn't relax until he and his crew were safe, _then _he could brood about his failure.

Dell heard a beep emanate from his console

He didn't immediately recognize the ships, still partially out of it. He saw the abnormal silver finish of the ships, with dark striped painted on the sides and an almost otherworldly feel about them. As if it commanded fear and respect by it's very presence. The identity of the ships continued to evade him until he noticed that, like a Federation ship, there was no immediately obvious sign of a bridge, merely being a kilometer long slab of thin metal with a portion of it's mass concentrated on the bow. Then he noticed the monolithic design of the ship, the kite-ish shape of the ship's bow and that they were all bathed in a dark blue light which, he supposed, was foolish of him not to have noticed earlier. He swore.

* * *

It is a well known UNSC policy to aggressively take any Forerunner facility and reverse-engineer any technology inside for rapid re-militarization in the wake of the Great War. The war had proven beyond any doubt that there were other lifeforms in the galaxy, and they were rarely friendly. So it was the UNSC's stance that, should a new contact event occur, humanity would be the dominant species, not them.

So work on the forerunner reclamation project began. Disassembling, then reassembling various Sentinel drones in the hopes of understanding what could make such a machine work. The study of numerous Forerunner energy weaponry, far superior to the weapons of even the Covenant. The Onyx Shield World, even as it churned out dozens of ships a day, was studied intensively by the human government and, for the most part, it continued unchallenged.

The one exception were the Forerunner Warships.

Several caches of them were found in numerous Installations, sometimes in pairs, or half a dozen ships, rarely more than 12. The largest cache found was within Onyx, 30 warships. The initial teams attempted to immediately tried to gain entrance, which succeeded easily, but the most difficult thing was to actually use the ships.

They did not respond. Whether this was a result of faulty human genetics, or an entire lockdown on all warships is not immediately known. What is known, is that these warships of the Forerunner empire would not obey humans. Would not activate any of it's advanced systems, or it's weapons for that matter, which, judging from the schematics made for the warships, was _considerable. _At the same time, their hulls were stronger than any alloy the UNSC or the Federation had, taking MAC rounds and Plasma torpedos with minimal scarring. Analysis of both the ship and the alloy aided in the creation of the Hephaestus metal, and the Necropolis.

Officially, research for the Necropolis began after the Borealis Incident, due to the fact that the UNSC was supposed to be focused on civilian applications of Forerunner technology. However, by the suggestion of ONI, research actually began nearly 14 months earlier in response to the threat of renewed conflict against Insurrectionists, and the continued threat posed by the Jirilhanae. So when the leak to the Borealis system, and the ensuing Jirilhanae assault, occurred, the first draft of the Necropolis' overall design was ready.

It's design was a mix of both UNSC, and Federation ship building techniques, with some Forerunner influences present, chief of which were the geometric figures across the entire ship. A little over a kilometer long and approximately four hundred meters wide, although the kite like bow was wider than the rest of the ship.

The ship held a selection of both UNSC, and Federation based weaponry. 4 _Autumn-class _MAC guns were placed at each side of the kite portion of the ship. CAM turrets were clustered at the ship's sides, and Shiva nukes were typically requisitioned to the ships, often times with a dozen to 3 dozen nukes each. Additionally, with the use of it's L-1 slipspace drive, created and tested by the Lamp Institute, it was able to jump into slipspace as many as 5 times every minute.

The L-1 engine was, in turn, powered by the C-1 reactor, which would be the predecessor for the C-2 Engines created by Concordia Industries nearly a decade later. The C-1 was a plasma based reactor which would support the power needs of the L-1 drive and CAM turrets. The MAC guns, engines (based on Federation design, due to the inability of the UNSC to properly mass produce the Forerunner variant) and other assorted devices would be powered by individual nuclear reactors scattered across the ship, having been miniaturized to the size of an armchair due to the recent strides in technology.

It's main fault was it's ability to defend against enemy fire. Rather, it would have been nice if the ship could actually _survive _a successful attack from an opposing ship. The Necropolis design was constructed with a mindset of hit and run tactics, and was never really considered a mainline assault ship. The L-1 engine would easily allow them to jump deep within enemy lines. Their MAC guns, Shiva nukes, CAM turrets and other assorted weaponry would rip apart anything nearby, while their engines would allow them to escape unharmed while the enemy were still wondering what the hell just happened. The fact that the entire ship was run by dumb AIs, with an overall human commander attached to the Battle group directing the assault, meant that a ship would never freeze in combat, never hesitate and, as long as pushed within the proper boundaries, would never malfunction.

It's first test run was during the Pacification War, when a group of 6 Necropoli, _Rapid Response Force N-1,_ faced off against the Jirilhanae _Strike Force 'Remember the Truth'_ over the skies of a Jirilhanae held colony on 2557. Within 2 hours and 17 minutes, the force of 48 warships were forced to retreat, losing 33 ships in the process, with more than half the survivors moderately, to severely damaged. On the other hand, only one Necropolis-4 was damaged when several Seraphs disabled the ship's weaponry by crashing into it, though it was believed to have been an accident.

The battle had proved beyond a doubt that the Necropolis concept was effective, scoring the largest kill ratio in any human-alien battle that did not involve Nova bombs, unorthodox tactics, or spartans, though it has been argued that the entire concept of the Necropolis was unorthodox. Said arguments have fallen over deaf ears.

Continued use of the Necropolis was limited though, requisitioned only to commanders whose loyalty to the UNSC was unquestioned, and sent wherever the strategic situation called for immediate assistance. This was to insure that as few Necropoli were destroyed as possible and to create a sort of myth towards the strange monolithic ships. This was, as interviews with surviving Covenant forces had shown, been largely successful, calling the Necropoli as the 'Silver Ships'. More than one strike force was routed when the 'Silver Ships' arrived over a battlefield, their commanders deciding to bail and fight another day.

By the end of the Pacification War, 51 Necropoli had been built, with 4 destroyed and one damaged. The damaged one was due to the commander in the first Necropolis conflict, while the other four were caught in a Jirilhanae surprise attack involving them destroying a gas giant in Sanghelli held territory.

* * *

**December 18, 2584**

**Ruins of New Babel**

**11th Necropolis Tactical Strike Force "Reborn" **

**UNSC Necropolis-Battlecruiser '_Never dead, Just waiting'_**

Unexpected.

Very, very much unexpected.

Captain Noel Sparks was thankful for standard Necropolis operating procedures. He really didn't want to deal with anyone screaming in horror or any shit like that, he had to think.

Necropoli had always been unmanned, mainly because human crew members would rarely have no negative effects from the many and, at most times, very rigorous slipspace jumps that made up a Necropoli task force's standard tactics. Even then, a human wouldn't be able to compare to an AI's computational ability and reflexes, making them even less important. Hell, if it weren't for the fact that Commanders were needed for both creativity, and to insure that the AIs wouldn't go rogue, he wouldn't even be here.

Sparks snorted at that. Even that so called creativity wouldn't stay for long, his new superior officer was proof of that. Eventually, all the human commanders would be replaced with unfeeling monstrosities that did these kinds of things whenever their masters asked them to.

Not that it mattered. They were there to insure that humanity would be the top dog of the galaxy, any and all means were acceptable.

Though...the sight of an entire planet dead would probably haunt him in his dreams, even if he didn't do anything about it. It wasn't his fault that it happened after all, the Insurrectionists did it, not him. He realized the hypocrisy of the statement, and was both annoyed, and disturbed at it.

A familiar black-green hologram appeared in front of him, and Sparks braced himself.

"Hello Captain! You know, you're kind of late. I explicitly told you to arrive 108 seconds after New Babel would get hit, but now your here 107 seconds after! It's as if your not even trying."

He suppressed a sigh "Commander. While I do apologize for my lateness, I don't see how it is of any consequence that I have arrived earlier than that. While It is a possibility that you have arranged the Operation by the millisecond, I consider it unlikely. Especially considering that one second within the battles we wage is nearly insignificant." He glanced at the planet below. Or above. Space was confusing that way.

The AI didn't miss a beat "Hmm...you have a point there Captain, which I believe is the reason Lecter assigned you to me. I do not have the necessary experience in communicating with organics to fully understand their reaction to certain stimuli. However, I still require you to do exactly what I tell you to, and to not allow any deviations on the battle plan, if that is perfectly all right?"

Sparks nodded and looked at the broken planet. "Speaking of deviations, what happened here? I thought the operation required only a major city or two, not the entire planet."

"5 major population centers actually. I had counted upon Lesley's forces being the less bloodthirsty of the Insurrection's forces, synching with her more conservative nature regarding civilian losses. Apparently, they are either more pressed for personnel that previously thought, if Lesley is forced to use extremists or there are factors within the Insurrection that are in turmoil or our psychological profile on Lesley needs severe restructuring.. Unfortunate, the loss of life was completely unnecessary."

Sparks slowly looked at the AI at that. He hadn't been with the AI long, but it didn't seem like the type which would worry about the number of human deaths in an operation as long as it was done.

"...too imprecise for me. I'm not Candid for maker's sake!"

There we go. Much better.

"Still, the mission is accomplished, perhaps even more so than originally planned, and the data I have collected, as well as the data we can hypothesize from this event, will result in a higher chance of success for the operation. Captain, are your ships ready?"

He nodded "Yes sir. All 45 ships of the NTSF-11 are armed, fueled and ready."

"Good no-"

The AI stopped in mid sentence which, from Spark's knowledge, limited as it is, about what the AI was, shouldn't even be _possible, _not at their rate of thinking. The thought had barely passed his mind when Genuine began talking again.

"Ah...a change of plans Herr Captain. I've momentarily let myself into the NTSF's battle network and, apparently the dumb AIs report that there is a Federation escape pod nearby. Their recovery codes match that of _An Exquisite End _which was unfortunately lost in the battle. I want you to redirect one of your ships from the assault for me to assume control of the vessel. Understood?"

Sparks eyebrows rose slightly at the request but accepted it. He redirected one of the newer ships, _Lost in the Void_, to Genuine and told him so.

"Thank you Captain. Now, you may return to the Operation. Make sure you kill _only _the ones specified, is that clear? The success of the operation will affect the outcome of certain other operations far above your clearance level."

Sparks nodded, "Yes sir, I understand. Your targets will burn, you can count on it."

The AI seemed to nod. "Good. Now go on! Cut off the head of the snake. Grab their intestines and play hopscotch with it. Just do it exactly as specified, it would be a shame to have such a capable commander retired early."

Then he disappeared.

The human shrugged, and tried to ignore the shivers that damn AI gave him and gave his orders.

* * *

**Section VI Official Report**

**Recorded Transmission between UNSC Vice Admiral Marcus Coleman and Federation Supreme Commander Dell Vestemee.**

_VA Coleman: Ha, knew it. An entire Fleet of Jirilhanae bastards wouldn't kill you, how the hell would four little MAC rounds kill you!_

_SC Vestemee: While your continued optimism is welcome Marcus, as with the Borealis, you are unusually joyous, expecially considering that an entire planet is dead below our feet. As well as a large majority of my former crew._

_VA Coleman: Ah...right right...Exquisite is gone now right? The old lady had a lot of fight left in her, she shouldn't have gone done so early._

_SC Vestemee: Agreed...May I ask though Marcus, what are you drinking?_

_VA Coleman: Ah, I'm glad you asked. [Audio: scrapping of chair, VA Coleman assumed to have stood up] This...is Madam Maxille's finest Red...white? Wine! Taken and distilled from the vines of New Babel herself! One of the last of her kind._

_SC Vestemee: and why are you drinking wine after all of this? _

_VA Coleman: Because Dellie, 35 million people from both our civilizations are dead, as well as a valuable military production yard and all her protection...hehe, protection...anyway, we're going to be piled with questions and paperwork and all amounts of ungodly shit, and then we won't have time to pay tribute to the dead. So I'm mourning them the only way I can, by drinking myself to catatonia! Jeez Dellie, I'd thought you knew me better by now._

_SC Vestemee [Silence for 14 seconds] May I join you friend?_

_VA Coleman: Of course Dellie._

_[7 minutes and 28 seconds pass before any conversation is heard]_

_VA Coleman: So. An entire planet huh? Didn't think the Innies were that desperate._

_SC Vestemee: It is to be expected. Your military pushed them to the edge of extinction during the Pacification War, they are desperate now. If not for the amount of military personnel and disgruntled civilians who have issues with the Federation, the Insurrection would be dead by now._

_VA Coleman: Yeah but even when the civil war was worst, decades ago, they never tried to destroy a planet before. Either the new leadership is far more bloodthirsty than the previous one, or they acted without authorization from their Commander._

_SC Vestemee: You believe foul play?_

_VA Coleman: No. The Innies did this, without a doubt. Whether we were prepared for it on the other hand, is a completely different matter. We should have wiped out their fleet the moment they began transitioning in! A few dozen unmanned ships to protect a Production Yard with minimum crew members? Yeah, definitely something wrong with that._

_SC Vestemee: Is there a reason for why the defenses of one of both a UNSC Production Facility, and a joint UNSC-Federation project?_

_VA Coleman: Official reports says that they were drawn off by a prior engagement with a larger Innie assault force, and some of the ships were left behind to protect the yards. _

_SC Vestemee: So that was what the Necropoli were there for? Protecting New Babel?_

_VA Coleman: Yeah. When I tried to contact them though, they gave classic ONI bullshit. That...code thing, you know? The one that tells every other UNSC ship that it's 'classified information' then to go fuck yourself? Yeah, that one._

_SC Vestemee: I am...unaware of such a code Marcus?_

_VA Coleman: Really? I always assumed that your...thing, had something similar. Lecter and...whatshisname are all friends right? _

_SC Vestemee: Not necessarily. Ghech Hellamee bears the burden of controlling the Federation's Information Analysis Division. Some members of the IAD are, were, members of the San 'Shyuum's Special Operations Division. His is a monumental task, andi t is only natural for him to work with an ally more capable than he._

_VA Coleman: If Lecter's good at anything, it's that at the very least. [brief laughter] Yes ol' Dellie my friend, you don't know how well you have it. At least yours don't quite know what they're doing yet! [more laughter]_

_SC Vestemee: Marcus..._

_VA Coleman: Yes old friend?_

_SC Vestemee: What happened while I was...indisposed?_

_VA Coleman: ...nothing I didn't already know friend._

_SC Vestemee: You are being frank about your opinions of ONI Marcus. Not once, during the Pacification War, or after, have you ever spoken about them._

_VA Coleman: What do you mean Dellie? I haven't said...shit. You're right! Damn, I must be WASTED beyond belief! Nearly as much as the hangover I'm getting in the morning!...It's not morning yet is it? I always can't tell onboard a ship..._

_SC Vestemee: Because you can't...[audio roughly equivalent to sanghelli sigh is heard]. You have yet to answer my question Marcus, what happened while I was away?_

_[silence for 30 seconds]_

_VA Coleman: Honestly Dell? I don't think you want to know. You don't want to be dragged into the same twice damned pit that I'm in. Just let me drink my wine in peace and leave. You'll be much happier that way._

_SC Vestemee: Again you underestimate the concept friend._

_VA Coleman: come again? I didn't hear that over the sound of how drunk I am._

_SC Vestemee: Do you recall the scar on your right hand Marcus?_

_VA Coleman: [snorting sound] How couldn't I? It hurt like hell. Almost as much as that time I was gut punched by a Brute._

_SC Vestemee: Do you recall HOW your hand was injured Marcus?_

_VA Coleman: Yeah. It was after I helped you bring down that Jirilhanae strike force heading towards...the Jubark system, yeah?_

_SC Vestemee: True. That scar is a mark of brotherhood among the sanghelli. For you have assisted me as a true battle brother should._

_VA Coleman: Really? Heh, what did I do Dell, save your family from certain death?_

_SC Vestemee: Indeed. The Jubark system is where all that is left of my family resides._

_VA Coleman: ...what?_

_SC Vestemee: If not for the assistance of your fleet, I doubt my own forces would have been sufficient Marcus. I could have stalled the fleet if the sacrifice of me and my fleet were included, but your assistance allowed me to see my family again. Without your assistance, my mate and offsprings would be dead. _

_VA Coleman: I never knew about that Dell._

_SC Vestemee: Because there was no reason for me to tell you. It was right before the final push towards Doisac, and that lasted 2 years remember? Nowhere in that was appropriate for me to tell you of the assistance you had given me. Then afterwards, where I was required to protect the home systems against Covenant remnants, while you were required to defeat the Anti-Xeno faction on earth, nowhere then as well. Now is, I believe, as good a time as any. Thank you Marcus Coleman for your assistance, and I will attempt to repay you when I am able._

_VA Coleman: Jesus Dell...you don't have to do that. I would have helped you no matter what, and you saved my ass a few times afterwards. We're even pal, no need to say otherwise...wait...you're family was stationed on sanghellios...you're pulling my leg aren't you?_

_SC Vestemee: ...perhaps_

_VA Coleman: [Audio: Confirmed as Coleman laughing and, potentially, rolling on the floor.] Oh god...and so the student has become the master...I've been a disastrous influence on you haven't I Dellie?_

_SC Vestemee: Perhaps Marcus, but the point still stand that you are my friend. If it bothers you enough that you are attempting to commit suicide by alcohol poisoning, then it does concern me._

_VA Coleman: ...no damning me afterwards?_

_SC Vestemee: Of course not._

_VA Coleman: All right, it's like this..._

**_[Audio file ended. Please select the next Audio file to continue your listening.]_**

**_

* * *

_**

**The New Babel Incident**

**Howard Blum File**

**Recovered on June 8, 2605**

_[Found in a folder of Mr. Howard Blum, labeled as 'Original Draft']_

So...this one supposed to be about the NB thing...I got all the info now, well, more or less. There're still some stuff I haven't looked up yet, but I was too drunk out of my mind last night to bother breaking into that...museum...thing...anyway, recap of what I got so far.

Innies find NB and the factory over it and send ships at it. Innies wipe out the guys protecting NB and the factory. Innies go and capture the factory. Feds and UNs come in and splatter the Innies all over the sector, and the factory goes too. Innies fire some captured ODP at the Feddie ship, ship goes, planet goes with it, ODP gets targeted and destroyed and boom. The biggest terrorist attack in like...ever!

Which was the..._official_ story to what the little old ladies keep calling the _'New Babel Massacre'. _To their credit, the story was pretty water proof. Every account agreed with itself, though there were some things didn't add up, it was natural. You don't all suddenly agree on the designation of the ODP after all. You don't immediately know that it's called _Splinter in the Eye_, or that Innies manage to mask their presence by some really...weird stuff. Good, but weird, but hell, that's why I'm leaving in some condo, teaching young punks the theory of relativity and why the hell they should care.

Anyway, there wasn't any problem with the facts, they were all pretty much ok. But again, there are some things that just don't make any sense.

One, why were the UNSC forces so unprepared for such an attack? Official story was that there was a larger force of Innies that came in and forced the Necro ships assigned to NB to chase after them. No proof of that happening, but the paperwork was all there, and everyone who would know about it on NB was, quite literally, dead, there was no one to doubt the story. That the Necros came back later did help the story, what with 40 + Necros would have been a _pain _to hunt down in any battle.

The UNSC and Fed response wasn't that surprising though. The Innies weren't hitting military installations _because _of the UNSC response. The Big War didn't exactly give the UNSC a very healthy perspective of the galaxy. Hell, the Borealis thing pretty much got a response 20 times more destructive. A hundred ships to wipe out an Innie force wasn't surprising, or what would happen afterwards.

The UNSC and the Federation both went overboard right? Factories pumping out more weapons and ships at a faster rate that the Great War era. The Monolith entered mass production, and the UNSC began using the sentinels a _lot _more in their battles against the innies. Then those new Spartans came up, and things _really _began going to the shits for the Innies.

Still, that wasn't really what bothered me right? A lot of Innies got killed so far, their bases and ships and what-not getting blown apart and all. What got me thinking though is that the UNSC and the Feds _aren't using all their ships._

This isn't like some, 80% of all the new ships go after the Innies while the others stay, that shit's normal. There are absolutely _NO _files on just how big the UNSC OR Fed fleets are. We know that all their factories are pumping weapons and ships, but the numbers just don't make sense!

For an example, say there's...10 shipyards right? All shipyards are based on Forerunner tech, meaning they'll pump out a Destroyer or Necropolis in a week. That's 45, more or less, in a year. In 20 years, there would be more than 900 ships made just by those 10 alone. In all that time, we'd see maybe 2 or 3 hundred ships in all official fleet documents. Where'd the rest of the fuckers go? We don't know, it's like they disappear of the face of the universe! Yeah it's a rough estimate to say that they'd make a constant amount of ships for 20 years but my point is still made, where the HELL did the other ships go?

Hell, that's not even including Onyx, what with it's utterly INSANE rate of production, which the UNSC _still _hasn't gotten around to replicating. It's pumping out, what, a destroyer a day? While still making those sentinels every second? Yeah, where'd the hell did THOSE things go?

It's not just the UNSC though, it's the Federation as well. More than two-thirds of their entire production line just disappears. But they can still afford to bring out fleets in hundreds! Hell, that fleet of the Fed SC is at, what, 900 by now?

Then there's the economics of making thousands of ships a year. Their making power-armor for their soldiers, sentinels for recon, Monoliths and Necros and what have you, and they can still afford to make these holographic entertainment systems, or these sports cars and crap. That _doesn't make sense!_ There hasn't been any rumors of entire companies going bankrupt making these things, or hell even facts. By all rights, the average UNSC citizen should be _dirt poor_ right now. Where the HELL are they getting all these resources? How are they managing to keep up the rate of production, and change nearly nothing within the civilian sectors? Admittedly, I don't know much about economics, but those power armors aren't cheap you know?

The entire economic infrastructure of the UNSC was utterly _focused _on ships, guns and ammunitions. Every factory, from every planet, was focused on creating weapons to protect the colonies. An average joe was lucky to get a bottle of wine from NB, nevermind a sports car. Though, to be honest, some of those bottles cost twice as much as one, but enough about that. Current projections are _exactly _the same as Great War era expenditure, but why hasn't the strain showed? We're all living our lives exactly as before, even with the UNSC creating such _ridiculously _large fleets.

Fuck it...It's just another long line of shit that doesn't make sense with the UNSC these days. I really need a break from this shit...

*End of Recording*

_[Addendum: There is a scribble written on the back datapad where was apprehended. From what we know of both his handwriting and genetic data, was the one who wrote it.]_

_Fascist bastards. I get it know, oh I get it know! Your coming for me, my accounts of all the other little shitty things you've done got me on your watch list, that's for damn sure! Well, I'm certainly not going done without a fight. I've sent multiple copies of this and my other works to _**_[Data Expunged]_**_ and the public media! You think you could just commit atrocity after atrocity without anyone noticing! Without any consequences!Well hell NO! No WAY am I letting that happen. _

_Heh...I can hear you banging on my doors already. Well you know what? Fuck you. Fuck you and your little punk ass master. Fuck you and your fascist organization. Fuck you ██-_

_[Analysis: It is noted that among 's private collections are in depth analyzations of the assault on Earth during the climax of the Great War, the Holland-Light Agreement, Operation: SALVATION, the Borealis Incident, the SI Centers, the Pacification of Y'Deio, the Destruction of Doisac, scraps of information concerning BERMUDA, _**_[Data Expunged] _**_and most alarmingly, knowledge of the Q-T Anomaly._

_It is unknown how had acquired so much information before Section VI found him. Ties to the Insurrection, or the ████████ led portions of the Insurrection seems unlikely, or they would have pulled him out. It is, however, possible that the █████████ believed we would conclude that. Further investigation is underway._

_It is also noted that the SI Centers, SALVATION, BERMUDA and _**_[Data Expunged]_**_ information are based highly on guesswork, as they are the only subjects whose information, even incorrect information, was not released publicly. As such, we can assume worked alone, or with a limited information network. If the latter is true, Section VI will be notified, and the information breach rectified._

_The ██ media centers where the information was sent to was either successfully removed by our informants there, or personnel who had found the information were eliminated without the larger public knowing. The only instance of failed containment was in the _**_[Data Expunged]_**_. All those with knowledge of the event have either been successfully terminated or been introduced to a █████. Survivors currently believe an Insurrectionist attack occurred, Switzerland branch has been notified to create the necessary alibis. _

_Information forwarded to the Insurrection was, mostly, intercepted. ████████ influence is suspected for several failed information breaches in sites 15 through 24. It is noted that site 17 is where Lesley is suspected to be in hiding. Maximum elimination of information breaches, while keeping the necessary Insurrectionist presence for phase five._

_Possible attempts at using the information for blackmail is minimal. _

_It is also unknown of the information packets sent to the █████████. It is prudent to assume that the information has been successfully received, and operatives are being sent to interfere with both ONI and ███████ operations. An advisory to all high level personnel is suggested._

_The leak to the discovery of the █████████ and ███████ are currently unknown. As of now, it is suggested that files from the previous conflict were found. As to why began researching on _**_[Data Expunged] _**_is currently unknown. Possibility of ████████ influence is not to be discredited. _

_Heaven's Gate is considered compromised, and it is suggested that all research materials and subjects within the Site be redirected to other locations. It is considered a Level 1 priority that the █████████ do not discover or make use of data discovered at Heaven's Gate. _

_All SI Centers are to move to different standby locations to insure the Insurrection does not find them. Security towards SI Centers were moving them is impossible is to be increased, and several Monolith Battle Groups be temporarily reassigned to their locations until BERMUDA is active._

_It is considered a Level 1 priority to insure BERMUDA's effectiveness. When the █████████ will make use of this information is currently unknown. It is my suggestion that BERMUDA be brought to phase four, full mobilization. After mobilization begins, any information released by the █████████ will be largely ineffective. _

_Due to information regarding _**_[Data Expunged]_**_ phase three may begin within the next 6 to 18 months. Fortunately, information concerning the Tacitus is nowhere to be found._

_'s remains will be quarantined and analyzed. After analysis is complete, and there is nothing unusual with 's body, it will be incinerated. A cover story of a drive by incident is being created.

* * *

_

**_Author's Notes_**

Well, I finished my finals last week, and have since been trying to play through my entire gaming collection at once, which is why I haven't updated earlier. Going through a total good path for Fable 3, getting 100% in everything on Assassins' Creed Brotherhood, playing New Vegas and then getting the circle scratch of doom when my mom moved the 360 by accident, screaming in impotency and rage afterwards, eating milk and cookies to soothe my troubled soul, etc. You know, the usual stuff.

This WAS supposed to be the end of the Inducement arc, but then I realized the next two segments were too large and shipped them off to their own chapter. This seems to be a recurring thing.

Also, I'm thinking on doing a rewrite on some of my chapters. I'm not that happy with the first few chapters, and there are some grammatical mistakes that I want to correct. I'll probably start at roughly the same time as I begin the next arc. Any comments on the chapters themselves are welcome. I may 'synchronize' the earlier, rough, chapters to the new facts of the coming chapters. i.e, some facts no longer fit into the story, and have to be retconned. No this won't affect major parts of the story, that you know about, it's more along the lines that I HATE it when my story has facts that don't add up, logic holes if you will. The full list of changes, if you don't want to read back on 8 chapters or so of fanfic, will be posted on the author's notes of the 10th chapter, to keep everyone in the loop.

For visualization purposes of what the Necropoli look like, think of a slimmer version of the Human Merchantship from Hegemonia: Legions of Iron. Get the two frontal...things to connect, make it longer, and put slightly more bulk into the middle and there's the general frame. Just stick it with silver and add the parts I mentioned above and you have the Necropolis Battlecruiser.


	9. Inducement: Part 4: Children

**Disclaimer: **Both Halo and Star Wars franchises do not belong to me. The Halo series belongs to Bungie, or 343 Industries which Bungie created to take care of the Halo franchise. Star Wars belongs to Lucasarts in turn. Any other Franchise I will add to this story will also not be made by me, and I will acknowledge them in turn.

**Confiteor **_- I confess_

* * *

They were spread out across the Beta Centauri, in asteroids or abandoned space stations or even huge colony ships, never stopping, always moving.

The Centauri Insurrection were, as many within ONI would zealously say, the most annoying sons of bitches they had ever encountered, partly due to the rebels own methodology. Instead of sabotaging UNSC factories, or pillaging Federation ships, or even ruthlessly accumulating power through the guise of an Insurrectionist group, the Centauri Rebels were concentrated entirely on ONI personnel and operations and ignored none but the most high profile targets, the NB Yards as a recent example. There were unique in that they were _effective_, as they had former UNSC and ONI personnel onboard, and not simply destroying everything that had the ONI logo attached.

They would use their extensive information network to figure out ONI operations, prowler assignments, strike force movements, operative names, etc. and send the necessary forces to either kill anyone they could find, or seriously fuck shit up. The traitors involved with the Insurgents would tell them everything they knew, and offered their skills to cause as much damage as possible to ONI. Making them even more unique is that, unlike certain others, they legitimately had no idea what they were dealing with. Where _they _would know what to steal, who to bribe, and most importantly, who to kill, the Centauri Insurgents destroyed just enough material, that were just important enough, loudly enough, to be considered a pain in the ass. They saw plans, and ship movements, and operatives being placed across the galaxy, but had no greater understanding on their motives, on the _why. _This did not mean they were stupid, the complete opposite in fact. It meant that they were late to the party, so to speak.

In a sense, they were both effective and ineffective. They would set their sights on something that looked like it could inconvenience ONI and destroy it. More often than not, this would, in fact, inconvenience ONI, but not considerably. The traitors from ONI that now walked with the insurgents weren't particularly important, barring several special cases, and so weren't involved with higher level decision making. In more practical terms, if they found a room filled with weapons, computers, and information pertaining to ONI, and were told that something inside the room was important to ONI, they would steal the weapons, destroy the computers, take the information and leave. ONI would suffer a loss true, but they didn't destroy the AI core hidden inside the doorknob. If they had _known _where to hit, they would be an incredibly dangerous threat to ONI.

So they had to go, the Centauri Insurrection were highlighted for Operation BASIC because of the potential threat they presented. Phase two of BERMUDA, Operation BASIC, would neuter the threat that they posed to ONI, while using them as a scapegoat to justify further militarization. Phase three, the actual militarization stage, would go smoothly without them destroying their military installations.

There was still the fact that Lesley was going off to explain to anyone that would listen that it wasn't her fault, or some other such thing. They couldn't stop her from doing that. They could, however, take away as much of her power base as they could.

* * *

**December 19, 2584**

**Alpha Centauri**

**Beta Centauri Insurgent Orbital Platform Base, codename _Honcho_**

**13 minutes after the destruction of New Babel**

It was hidden in deep space, in between the stars and planets, at roughly 14 AU, or 2 Billion kilometers, away from the farthest planet in the Alpha Centauri system, making it the farthest base away from the NB fiasco, and the most isolated, since the Alpha Centauri system, in the year 2584, still didn't have any colonies yet.

_Honcho_, as it was endearingly named by the insurgents, was the Centauri base of operations. It typically held Lesley and the rest of her commanders, serving as their homes from where they could safely lead their Insurrection in whatever way they deemed fit.

Since it was where the great Rear Admiral Lesley typically stayed, it was the most protected of the three Centauri bases. It was the only base to use energy shield technology, scavenged of the many ship wrecks that resulted from the Pacification war. It, like the others, had an early warning system emplaced to detect slipspace transitions, but also possessed a slipspace inhibitor field, stopping ships from transiting anywhere near the space station unless those inside the station wanted them too. It held the largest defending contingent of frigates of the three bases, and had the defenses from it's previous life still intact.

_Honcho _was originally a Federation Orbital Defense Platform that had protected the Tala system, specifically the Unggoy homeworld of Bahalo. It was one of the 7 ODPs that severely damaged the repurposed _Faith in the Covenant_ during the siege of Bahalo. The rest of the ODPs were subsequently destroyed or damaged beyond use.

Once the ground siege began, Insurgents would look over the wreckage and take what they could while avoiding either the sanghelli, who did not have the time or force of arms to take care of the wreckages, or the jirilhanae, who would occasionally take potshots at orbiting ships with ground based defenses. Eventually, enough pieces were recovered that the _Honcho _would be built. It would boast the plasma torpedos, energy projectors, and other weapons that it originally had, even the precision plasma lance that was based of the plasma torpedo system. The innies that built them would eventually become the foundation of the Centauri Insurgency.

13 Necropolis Battlecruisers appeared one hundred thousand kilometers away from the space station. It's sensors were precise enough to have detected the slipstream jump, and to know that the Battlecruisers were Necropoli. They knew that their ships were not fast enough to outrun them, and that the UNSC wouldn't show mercy to them, so they decided to die fighting.

They deployed all their frigates, 15 of them, and centered them around the space station. They then activated their slipspace inhibition field, which was recovered when a former ONI operative resigned, for lack of a better term. This resulted in the Necropoli being unable to slip in and destroy the space station with a well placed hit and run assault. They dug in, called for reinforcements from their asteroid base.

The Necropoli did not stay motionless for long. One Necropoli entered slipspace, and tested just how far the inhibitor could go. It reappeared 20 thousand kilometers away from the base, and accidentally activated the Shiva mine cluster spread across the 20 thousand mark. The resulting nuclear explosion ripped the fragile ship apart, and ignited it's munition stores, creating an even larger explosion which scattered it's parts all across the system. _Honcho _then proceeded to fire it's plasma lance, which managed to rip one of the Necropoli in half.

The Necropoli then disappeared all at once in a bright flash of light before _Honcho _could redirect it's weapon at them. They all reappeared at once in a circular formation facing the station 30,000 kilometers away and fired their MAC guns all at once, depleting their respective charges as 132 MAC rounds spiraled towards the station. It took the rounds 5 seconds to cross the distance, and the sheer weight of firepower meant that the energy shield posed no significant resistance as the rounds shredded both the frigates, and tore the space station apart.

Even with the inhibition field deactivated, the Necropoli fired another barrage of MAC rounds 7 seconds later, turning everything within the kill zone into metal confetti. They proceeded to go through the wreckage a few second later.

_Honcho_ was secured.

* * *

**December 19, 2584 **

**Beta Centauri System**

**Centauri Insurgent Asteroid Base, codename_ Bastards._**

**10 minutes after the destruction of New Babel**

Bastards on the other hand, was the second most heavily defended base, due to the fact that it was built right on a _fucking asteroid_, and hidden in an asteroid belt, so it would be a pain to find in any case. It failed to be the most heavily defended base due to the fewer number of protectors, 10 frigates to be precise, and It's purpose was to house the Centauri's rapid response groups, the CCS Battlecruisers, to deploy anywhere within Centauri space as quickly as possible. Which, considering the distance between Bastards and Honcho, could be less than 4 minutes. When under attack, they would use the Battlecruisers as capable hit and run vessels, typically cutting invaders in half, and send the rest fleeing. Additionally, the second largest concentration of the defending ships, roughly 10 frigates or so, were defending the Bastards, so it counted, along with it's natural protection, counted as the most heavily defended base next to Honcho.

It was so named because of a fairly amusing incident concerning the original architects of the asteroid base, around the year 2560. They had left as survivors of a Covenant force that had destroyed a settlement of theirs years ago, near the end of the Great War. They had met up with the most successful Insurgent group they could find, which was coincidentally the opponents of what would become the Centauri Insurgents, and offered to assist them with creating an asteroid base, in return for helping them kill some admiral or other, who had left them to die against the Covenant. Said insurgents agreed, and allowed them to build the habitat.

After the asteroid was built, the Centauri assaulted the base, killed their rivals, and somehow cornered the architects for the asteroid. When asked who they were and why they were here, they answered that they were the ones to create the base. The Centauri were were impressed enough that they asked them to join the group. They agreed, on the condition that the one who had betrayed them would die. Whereupon they were informed that the man was already dead, for at least 6 years they said. The next word they said, which was, presumably, either to the now dead Insurgents, or to the Admiral himself, became the name for the asteroid that the Centauri took from their rivals.

Ok, so it wasn't really amusing at all, the original Centauri were a strange bunch.

When 3 Necropolis Battlecruisers appeared 120 thousand kilometers away from Honcho One, the entire facility went on red alert. The frigates were deployed throughout the asteroid belt to defend the station, and Shiva nukes spread throughout the asteroid belt were activated. Unlike _Honcho_, it was felt the need to track down a slipspace suppression device wasn't worth the effort, considering an asteroid field would quite effectively, and violently, stop anyone stupid enough to try, and that an inhibitor field might attract attention, as the devices were typically known to do. _Honcho _had the excuse of being in deep space, and as such, the radiation coming off the inhibitor field would blend into the background easily, _Bastards_ had no such excuse.

The Necropoli stayed still for a few second until a flash of light appeared in front of one of the Necropoli. Half a second later, another flash of light appeared right in the middle of the asteroid belt. A full second after that, the _Bastards _sensors went wild from the recorded radiation.

2 seconds after that, the NOVA bomb exploded.

The bomb reduced the entire asteroid, and the nearby defenders, into piles of rubble and dust. Every asteroid within the significant area of the explosion, which could be measured in the thousands of kilometers, were reduced to millions of shards of melted rock. _Bastards _itself simply disappeared, taking everyone inside to a fiery, radioactive, and painless death. The frigates that had surrounded the asteroid were in no better shape, the farther ones reduced to a few hundred metric tons of fused metal, while those closer to the blast were simply _gone_, with no traces of their remains left.

The explosion served to agitate the Shiva nukes nearby, and not a few of them exploded as well, taking some of the frigates with them. The explosion from both the NOVA bomb and the Shiva nukes crushed whatever frigates had survived the explosions. The result was an asteroid belt missing a huge portion of it's asteroids, while the rest had all crushed together from the force of the explosion, or in some cases, fused completely together from the heat and pressure exerted by numerous nuclear detonations.

_Bastards _was secured.

* * *

**December 19, 2584**

**Beta Centauri System**

**Centauri Insurgent Mobile Base, codename _Convoy_**

**15 minutes after the destruction of New Babel**

The Convoy, as the Insurrectionists called it, wasn't a base _per se_, it was more along the lines of _'group of ships that served as the last bastion'_, or something like that. It consisted of 18 Phoenix-class colony ships, which the UNSC had 'misplaced' over the years. They were all, through varying degrees, modified for combat, with Archer missile pods, MAC guns and point defense guns on each one. A fair majority were Echelon-II, or even Echelon-III in some cases, which meant they were also fairly technologically superior. They were largely crewed by those unwilling to live under the UEG, for various reasons, and, despite having so much weaponry, several of the ships were still entirely dedicated to housing entire civilian populations.

The ships themselves were arrayed evenly in a loose, spherical formation and layered according to importance. The civilians were clustered onto 4 ships, which were in the direct center of the formation. The supplies for the fleet were, in turn, distributed among both the 4 ships, and 3 more ships which were in the next layer of defense, in between the civilian ships and the mainline military ships. Ammunition and fuel were largely left behind on other bases and strongholds, but the second inner layer of 3 ships also held enough ammunition for the rest of the fleet. These ships, those that held the ammunition and civilians, were the normal, unaltered versions of the Phoenix types. The Echelon-IIs were scattered in the third and second defensive line, 3 ships and 4 ships respectively, while the Echelon-IIIs were at the outer defensive line to maximize the advantage of their shield technology.

As it was, they had the best chance of survival, when compared to the other two. Like _Honcho_, they were heavily armed, but also considerably mobile. Like _Bastards_, they would see a NOVA bomb coming, unlike _Bastards, _there wasn't an asteroid field in the way, so they could escape whenever they wanted to. The sheer number of ships would also mean that at least some of them would escape, though the formation was created to insure that the civilians would be the most protected. Still, when their sensors claimed that a group a 28 Necropolis Battlecruisers, the largest group of Necropoli to have faced any opponent since the climax of the Pacification War, were coming towards them, it was only natural that they would have accidentally shat in their pants.

Knowing they did not have the means or the ability to fight, they did the only thing that they could do that offered a chance of survival, and something the rest of the Centauri Rebels failed to do. Run as far away as they could and as fast as their slipspace engines could take them. Fortunately, plans for such a scenario had been planned beforehand, but strictly as a worse case scenario, second only to the possibility of tripping inside a NOVA bomb minefield, or facing an entire UNSC fleet, or both.

Still, they weren't quite ready when a force of 15 Necropoli appeared in front of them and began firing their MAC guns within the first few seconds of engagement. The defensive shield around the inner core fights back, buying the rest enough time to activate their slipspace drives and escape, even as their defenders are shredded by the force of arms against them. The 4 ships of the outer line are annihilated, despite taking several Necropoli with them.

The Necropoli proceeded to chase after them, tracking their presence in slipspace. However, their advanced engines would prove to be their downfall. Given the same amount of time for both the Insurgents, and the UNSC ships to move, though the Insurgents would not have fled nearly as far to escape the Necropoli, they fled shortly enough that the Necropoli _overshot_ them, their AI pilots managing to minimize the distance to miliseconds in slipspace. Which was, for the remnants of the Insurgents, more than enough for them to gain their bearings and disperse again. Despite continued attempts at tracking them down, they were largely unsuccessful.

All in all, BERMUDA's first operation went as smoothly as could be hoped. All of their main bases were destroyed, and a good majority of their fleet had been wiped out, both by the assault on New Babel, and the surprise assault against their bases. True, _Convoy _managed to escape with a good portion of their civilian population and supplies, but that only meant that the Centauri's could be relied upon to attack UNSC forces sometime in the future, further degrading the public persona of the Insurgents, and allowing the UNSC to create more ships. Or not, in which case they would merely stay the fuck out of the way.

BASIC succeeded in what it was set out to do, BERMUDA was cleared to begin phase three.

* * *

**SI Center Enclave**

**Module 07**

**November 17, 2584**

Clones

When the Spartan-II program first went online, flash clones replaced the children that ONI had abducted, to minimize awareness that children would be trained to become the perfect little soldiers that the UNSC needed them to be. Presumably, to eliminate the insurgent threat present in the outer colonies. The modifications done on those kids were _insane_, carbide ceramic ossification, muscular enhancement injections, catalytic thyroid implants, and a dozen other modifications to fight, what? A rebellion against the government? Considering the sheer amount of overkill that they pumped into them, it was a miracle no one asked any deeper questions. Which was a sign, she supposed, of just how bad things were back then.

Not that the fact the Covenant would arrive at roughly the same time the Spartans were at the height of their prowess. Nope, just a coincidence ma'am move along.

Nonetheless, the reasons they didn't use actual, stable, clones was because they didn't have funding to do so. Because the Spartan-II program, while ambitious, did not seem to be the answer to the rebellion. That a group of around 70 or so men and women would end the insurrection, more or less. That...wasn't a problem now. Back then, they had been given the funds to create and field a battle group. Now, she could get enough funding to create anything short of an SI Center without question.

So they no longer had to commit the same crime of forcing children to fight their wars, not anymore. Now they were guilty of _creating _children to fight their wars now. Her sense of irony was positively tickled.

Of course, a good portion of the Spartan-II modifications had been altered, with the new technology filling in the gaps of their knowledge, and making things safer for everyone involved. Then there were those...profoundly disturbing genetic modifications from Heaven's Gate, but Section VIII had said that they didn't include the extreme variants, and only added the ones that increased intelligence, muscle strength and reflexes, a form of advanced skin armor, and other things which they _swore _wouldn't be dangerous or overly addicting.

Oh yes, the addiction. She had blown a gasket when they had tole her about that one. Apparently, the extreme genetic modifications the mutagen forced onto it's victims also had the side effect of imbuing them with an addiction for more when the 'Adam' in their body ran dry, their body incapable of managing the modifications without it. Of course, extensive analysis of the 'Adam' mutagen had revealed that the addiction could be removed, but with the loss of effectiveness the mutations caused. It was suggested that they keep the addiction in place, to insure obedience from the Spartan-IVs. After she had hit the bastard on the head with her clipboard, they eventually found a compromise.

They could minimize the genetic instabilities to a certain point, but stabilizing it would mean a loss of overall effectiveness and genetic adaptability that 'Adam' was useful for. The spartans could last much longer without adam now, half a year at maximum, but the damage inflicted when the threshold was passed would be raised exponentially. Since this meant that they would also last longer on the field, ONI approved. Considering the human SIVs, it was the least she could do.

As she looked at the clones as they filed in, followed by their Sanghelli brethren, thoughts of redemption entered her mind, and she wondered if she would ever be forgiven. She smiled bitterly at that, and kept it aside for now. They were both around the same number, the clones themselves were numerous, 245 children, culled from the best of the best men and women the UNSC could find.

She waited for them to settle down for a moment, future soldier soldiers or not, they were still children. She almost smiled at that, just a little, before she began speaking.

"These are your fellow trainees. They will train with you to become spartans, as you are training to become spartans as well. I will be handling control of the training to these persons behind me." shrugging at the figures behind her "Now, do you have any questions?"

The typical questions were asked, painful in that she remembered when the Spartan-IIs asked them. She answered them clinically and efficiently, having remembered the notes she had written down for the occasion. It was fine until the young sanghelli, Ghell if she recalled correctly, went and asked her the most obvious thing a male sanghelli would say.

"Who's our squad commander?"

By which he meant who's the boss. She explained that they would play things by virtue of merit. Those who show true leadership skills will become leaders, and because they had arrived only now, they still did not have a leader. This seemed to placate him, then he asked the second most common question to a male sanghelli.

"Who's their squad commander?"

Her lips twitched at that, and she spent a few moments calming her breath. She called out, in as clear a voice as she could without them breaking. A little boy, with features she once knew so well, but strangely altered now, stepped forward and spoke.

"Recruit Number SIV-059 from Genetic Batch SII-117 : SII-058 reporting for duty ma'am."

She closed her eyes.

They had to get their genetic template from somewhere, and who were better than the Spartans?

She hoped John would forgive her.

* * *

**Project Threshold: The Proletariat Program**

The Proletariat Program was the designation for one of the 5 programs created for Project Threshold. It's purpose was to create supplementary artificial intelligences to assist the UNSC in their own war making efforts. The AIs that typically control Necropolis Class Battle Cruisers for example, were the result of the Proletariat Program's own extensive research into the problem of how to achieve maximum efficiency with as little problems as possible.

It's origins came from the extensive loss of human life after the end of the Great War. The human population from after the Great War was be too limited to risk in another conflict, which was one of the principal reasons for the UNSC's reluctance to enter the Pacification War. Considering the extensive use of artificial intelligences that the Forerunners used, the problem of how to support the UNSC with artificial intelligences was formally adopted to the Threshold Program.

The Proletariat Program's main objective was to automate all but the most essential military posts held by human hands, and to insure that they don't facilitate an armed robot rebellion. A Necropolis Battle Group are a fine example of what the program aims to achieve, a fully autonomous, obedient, and effective fighting force. Considering the success the Necropoli program had gained, it was only a matter of time until the Proletariat Program would move on to other ships.

This was not merely isolated to ships, other aspects of military warfare were being supplemented or outrightly replaced with AIs. Proletariat would communicate with the other four programs to see what they could improve, an example of which were Sentinels being shipped to supplement UNSC Army operation against Insurrectionists on March 2586. Another would be using AIs in the UNSC's armored regiments, though this had limited success, as a Dumb AI could not fight as well as a UNSC tank commander, which in turn, could not fight as well as a Smart AI, which ran the risk of going rampant.

Which was the main obstacle for the Proletariat Program in really. The AIs were already _there, _and there was no need to really tinker with them. Putting them into machines invited a risk that they would go rampant, and in the fevered dreams of all science fiction writers, turn against the UNSC and make the Great War look like a particularly rude exterminator.

This was partially resolved by only using Dumb AIs, which had limited intelligence capacities, and to give them micromanaging positions, with human commanders watching over them. Risk of said commanders turning on the UNSC were there, as the risk always was, but the shutdown codes for the AIs were with ONI, so the problem was mostly neutered.

Smart AIs were another problem entirely. Since the new AIs reverse engineered from Forerunner technology did not have the same 7 year 'till crazy problem, it could not be predicted when the AIs would go rampant. They couldn't risk going back to the old formula, mainly because the increased capacity of the new AIs, and the cost of replacing every smart AI in the UNSC every 7 years was an ugly prospect.

So they did the only thing they could really do, hardwire the AIs into being fanatically loyal to the UNSC and humanity. The Proletariat Program had learned from the failures of Mendicant Bias, trapped as he was into a logic puzzle that could only be solved through siding with the Flood, and decided to bypass the problem altogether. Smart AIs sent to assist scientists would obey all of their commands without question, even going past typical UNSC laws if need be, but if the scientists deliberately decides on a course of action which resulted in unacceptable losses to either the UNSC, Humanity, or both, the AI was authorized to eliminate the scientist.

The same was true for every AI from that point on. Civilian AIs, city administration AIs anyway, would manage the city to the perimeters set for it, and would deal with severe infractions of the law severely. Information AIs would record and analyze anything they would be sent, but would turn on their commanders if they planned to sell the information to other parties. The only exception were Special Tactics AI, which were given enough autonomy to decide upon any course of action which resulted in a positive outcome for the UNSC and ONI.

Considering the AIs would be programmed with fanatical loyalty to the UNSC, and absolute loyalty to ONI, that the AIs could technically be called their watchdogs. The amount of power this would give either the UNSC or ONI is immense, and there are whispers that, should ONI ever go rogue, the resulting power struggle would be catastrophic.

They were based, as the rest of the programs were, in Onyx. The Shield World had proven to become the lynchpin of a technological revolution which come to be known in future years as the Second Renaissance, though the fruits of the technological bounty would not reach the civilian population for decades, since a considerable amount of said technological bounty was being used to arm up, and Onyx was required for that to happen. Not that Onyx was the only forerunner installation the UNSC would find, far from it, but it was the first one they would find, and so the majority of human technological achievement would be based off it.

They were aware that they weren't the only AI centric department that the UNSC had at the moment. There were plenty of independent parties that would _love _to get their hands on Forerunner tech. Not that the tech was being actively suppressed, but the most useful ones were being hoarded by the military in preparation of BERMUDA, but back to the point. Besides the Proletariat Program, ONI's Section V for Forerunner Research would be the closest thing they would have to a competitor. However, considering that the Proletariat were focused on AIs that would generally supplement human military and information actions, Section V was currently focused on creating Artificial Commanders, the Tacitus being one of them.

The Tacitus...well...it, and the Reach Class AIs were not the Proletariat's concern, it belonged to another department's project. Still, those that worked with the Proletariat Program were disturbed with the Reach AIs, and the concern that they could become, or already were, seed AIs, AIs that could continuously improve themselves into a technological singularity, in which case Humanity was fucked. Considering that the Tacitus would have complete control over any and all forces for BERMUDA, and that a significant portion of those forces are AIs, they couldn't help but think those idiot's in Halsey's division were doing their job. Not that they would merely stop with hoping off course.

**Author's Note**

That was, most definitely, me not pulling through with my promise.

Anyway, I had encountered a clusterfuck of problems for me, and I was more or less done with the chapter when it happened. I had to take a few days off to cool down otherwise the story would spiral into GRIMDARK by the next few chapters.

In any case, I haven't shed light into the Federation's position have I? Well, I'll try to explain that in the next chapter's end notes. But the general position is that during the Pacification War, they were to busy trying to survive, while the UNSC cleaned house and aided them with as few ships as they could get away with. After the Pacification War, the large amounts of change and resistance with turning a previously Theocratic Empire with an _insistent _view on the caste system being turned into something with democracy in it? Where the common masses have the ability to choose? I've made the story to give the Sanghelli a chance by not turning the former Covenant races against each other in _another _civil war over what government to create, or making them stay a Theocratic Empire, but one that was more friendly. I chose to change their government because it has been stated in canonthat the Sanghelli have considerable respect for the humans' way of warfare and conduct, so they would try to pattern the new empire into something resembling a human government. In this case, a federation.

It also may or may not have been affected by the mental picture of a Sanghelli working at a fast food restaurant, screaming that they would handle the customer's orders 'By the Blood of my Father, and by the Blood of my Son!' or something similar. My mind wanders sometimes, so sue me.


	10. Opposition

**Disclaimer: **Both Halo and Star Wars franchises do not belong to me. The Halo series belongs to Bungie, or 343 Industries which Bungie created to take care of the Halo franchise. Star Wars belongs to Lucasarts in turn. Any other Franchise I will add to this story will also not be made by me, and I will acknowledge them in turn.

**Amicus humani generis - **_A friend of the human race_

* * *

**Class-0 Tactical Briefing on the BERMUDA Operation**

**Uploading Data Avatars...**

**_Codenamed Rood uploaded. [0:H, 0:M, 1:S]_**

**_Codenamed Cerberus uploaded. [0:H, 0:M, 3:S]_**

**_Codenamed Lineage uploaded. [0:H, 0:M, 7:S]_**

**_Codenamed Math uploaded. [0:H, 0:M, 10:S]_**

_Cerberus: Now, is there anything of no consequence you'd like to discuss before we discuss the particulars? _**_[0:H, 0:M, 31:S]_**

_Math: I do, while I'm a lover for bureaucratic analness and all, but I don't think we need to time our responses or, in fact, record this conversation. mainly because no one except us will know it existed, and the time record after every sentence gets annoying after a while. _**_[0:H, 0:M, 40:S]_**

_Math: See? _**_[0:H, 0:M, 41:S]_**

_Cerberus: Fine. _**_[Administrator Override]_**

_Cerberus: Anything else? _

_Rood: None_

_Lineage: None_

_Math: Zero_

_Cerberus: Now... First of all, have we received reports from the Envoys? Rood?_

_Rood: Yes we have, partially anyway. A fair amount of the Envoys failed to reach their destinations, five of them failed to reach the Galactic Cluster at all, while another was lost somewhere near the edge of their galaxy. We don't think it's Imperial, but it may or may not be artificial._

_Cerberus: Is it a threat to the Operation?_

_Rood: As of yet, no. The data we got from a few seconds before we lost contact did not match Imperial weapon emissions. Or at least, what we know of their emissions. The drones themselves were built to destroy themselves through slipspace ruptures should we lose contact with them, so discovery of what they are shouldn't be possible. _

_Cerberus: Still, they would ask what the hell that was shouldn't they?_

_Rood: From the information Grey Team sent us, this Empire of theirs seems to be Orwellian in nature, with the Emperor as a particularly tyrannical figure. It would not be a stretch of imagination that, should a rebel faction or...something else, found it, that they should assume it was an Imperial Experiment. If Imperials found it, then they may suspect something, but nothing overt unless it reaches the high echelons of their government. Their galaxy is large, and it wouldn't be out of the question for them to have believed it came from some unknown species within their own cluster. _

_Cerberus: I see... What of the other four?_

_Rood: We've told them to begin Von Neumann operations, and have them in 4 different solar clusters. By the time we arrive within the next few decades, even accounting for the time lag our slipspace engines seem to exhibit, they would have a functional base and production center waiting for us. They'll begin production of Echelon-III ships, as well as the Necropolis and Obelisk ships._

_Lineage: What are the chances that they will be found by the Empire? _

_Rood: Considering the totalitarian reign of the Empire will need vast amounts of material, and that the Rebellion will probably be using abandoned asteroid fields or some such as their bases, there's a possibility that they WILL be found. If the rebels are particularly annoying, then the Empire will send drones, which will inevitably find it's way there. When this does arrive, we are hoping that the defense network will be set up, as well as the jamming beacons. The odds of them using the same system as us are, unfortunately, astronomical. So if anything comes into those systems, we'll need them to transmit at least once, hopefully more times, before they do anything to get a chance of eliminating them. They should also begin transforming their respective planets after the first 7 months. They won't need to be of the same quality as Onyx, so it should be well within considerable boundaries._

_Lineage: I still say that using those drones are an unnecessary risk. It will only take a single drone with faulty software during construction for the entire thing to spiral out of control. _

_Rood: If it does, then it will only happen in THEIR galaxy, and it would be safely contained. The only one of those drones capable of slipspace transition are the originals. The Envoys posses Dumb AIs, which will direct them and deal with any droid that goes rogue. In the worst case scenario, they do continue with their rogue programming, and will then stop once the available resources around them have gone._

_Lineage: I still think it's a bad idea._

_Rood: Noted._

_Cerberus: Back to the matter at hand, how is Project Threshold coming along Lineage?_

_Lineage: Very well sir. The boys at Proletariat has begun sending out the AIs to act as ship supplementaries. Special Tactics AI and Information AIs have begun production, and the first batch should reach Section VI and VII within the month. Minutemen has begun creating cheap SPI based armor which will enable our men to fight in vacuum with minor strength and speed modifications, while the ODSTs have the MJOLNIR based TAC armor now and they say the plasma, laser and ballistics weaponry are done and ready for mass production. Eclipse has pulled through for us, and the specifics have been sent to those concerned. Titan believes they can orbital drop our tanks in, _with _the crew still alive, and the new Coilguns on the Scorpions can go through Scarab plate armor and shred everything inside it. Archangel says they can have the PARTHENON designs done by next next year, while MONOLITH designs should be done in the next 6 months. Production for the Obelisk Class Destroyers have begun smooth so far, and the atmosphere based aircraft are done as well. All in all, their almost done._

_Cerberus: Good, good. Rood, how are the little tin men?_

_Rood: With respect sir, I believe the current security measures are insufficient for this topic._

_Cerberus: I see. Very well. This meeting has moved to Negative One clearance. Confirm network protection._

**_[Negative One clearance confirmed]_**

_Math: Confirmed._

_Rood: Confirmed._

_Lineage: Confirmed._

_Cerberus: Now. Gab, how is the program going along?_

_Rood: The Tacitus Program is going according to plan sir. Genuine, Insular, Disconsolate, Altruistic and Candid are all online and should be sufficient for what needs to be done._

_Cerberus: and...?_

_Rood: The Spartan IV program is proceeding well. Halsey's presence does seem to minimize psychological trauma, and the training is proceeding according to plan. The augmentation procedure should begin next week, along with the improvements from Heaven's Gate. The MJOLNIR Mk.7 has left conceptualization phase as well._

_Cerberus: Fair enough. Math, analysis of the most efficient combat doctrine to combat Imperials?_

_Math: Preliminary Analysis indicates the Empire spans the entire opposing Galaxy. Due to the Authoritarian Government present, there are likely hundreds of thousands, or even millions of ships required to keep the order. Current economic and military abilities of both the Federation and the UNSC are insufficient by several dozen magnitudes to fight the Imperials on a ship-to-ship basis, besides the sentinels. Overwhelming tactics are insufficient. Suggest destruction of key worlds, installations and persons within the Empire to facilitate a collapse as the surviving forces struggle to assume power. Suggest reverse-engineering of Forerunner Technology to create ships superior to the Empire's equivalent ship class. Suggestion of guerilla tactics and formation of the Empire's opponents against them as shock troopers. Current technology insufficient to attempt these tactics. _

_Cerberus: Everything we've previously agreed upon then. Gabriel, at our current rate of technological expansion, and considering we found those Shield Worlds, how much can we muster for BERMUDA's first push? Minus the sentinels._

_Rood: If we divert all production centers into creating the Fleet, postpone colonization operations and utilize _everything,_ we should have a Fleet of somewhere in the 9,000-14,000 by 2610, not including Federation forces and the sentinel drones. While large, this would still be minuscule compared to the projected Imperial forces of hundreds of thousands. If we include the Echelon ships though, we can push that number to 17,500-19,800. The Von Neumann yards would begin making Echelon, Necropolis and Obelisk ships once they've settled into their Shield Worlds. Each one should be able to create 500, 240, and 90 ships of each one per year, given that their resources are equal anyway._

_Cerberus: How about the Federation, what are they doing?_

_Rood: They've managed to stabilize their state of affairs, and they say that they should have roughly 10,000 ships of varying classes to give us. Their sending their Supreme Commander to head that fleet, and they say they should have enough crew with them, considering how fast the Unggoys seem to breed, I don't doubt it._

_Cerberus: Michael, have we done it yet?_

_Lineage: Uh...no sir, we haven't gotten through it yet._

_Cerberus: So the Lock hasn't been broken yet._

_Rood: No sir. All Forerunner ships are still barred from us. The Necropolis was a good start at utilizing their technologies, but we still had to try to understand the mechanics and sciences behind that, and it took us years to do so. We know very little about what they've collected over the years, so all we can really say is that there are a LOT of them._

_Cerberus: Hmm, as of the moment, how many ships are in Center-26?_

_Rood: Officially? 500, ranging from their equivalent of frigates to destroyers. Unofficially, there are at least 1,700 more ships, carriers, planetary destroyers, engineering platforms, etc. Considering even a frigate would do grievous harm to one of our Battle Groups if handled correctly, that Fleet could be unstoppable. It's a shame we can't use them._

_Cerberus: You realize of course, that if Tacitus were to go Rampant there would be literally nothing we could do to stop it? Any failsafes we could possibly think of analyzed, countered and discarded before we even thought of it. Tacitus could become a new Mendicant Bias. A God._

_Rood: With all due respect sir, you know of our belief towards Gods. There are none. We killed them. If Tacitus is to take up the mantle that the Forerunners had thought they were, we would kill it. But the matter is moot, Tacitus is built differently from Mendicant with not a single block of data vulnerable to manipulation. Rampancy is not an issue with Tacitus._

_Cerberus: Be careful Rood. Your arrogance has been noted, and is disquietingly similar to that of the Forerunners. They thought they knew what they were doing as well, and now only their legacy remains. Now, get your men organized and proceed with the research. You have more than enough funds to do so._

_Rood: Yes sir._

**_[Rood Disconnected.]_**

_Lineage: Can we trust him sir?_

_Cerberus: Hell no. His quest for power probably killed more Admirals than the Covenant ever had. We're still doing a body count and we're assuming all the MIA's are his doing. Do you know that the reason ONI got neutered after the end of the Great War was his doing? But we can't prove shit on him. The only thing saving him is how much we need him right now. He's dedicated to Humanity, even more so than either of us could ever be. He won't betray us._

_Lineage: It could be a trap sir. All this, an attempt for him to take over. If we do nothing, he'll easily take over!_

_Cerberus: An understandable outlook Admiral, very understandable. There is one thing you fail to account for though._

_Lineage: What would that be sir? That your his pawn as well? That he controls everything already?_

_Cerberus: Goodness no! He is powerful obviously, he is in command of ONI and more willing to use it's powers than any of his predecessors. The difference is that he, doesn't care about us. About the Admiralty in any sort of degree. He doesn't care for advancing his career in the UNSC. What he wants to see is Humanity across the stars, a powerful Empire spanning galaxies. He's only in that seat because he figured it was the best place to do so. _

_Lineage: Still, we can create safeguards. Make sure th-_

_Cerberus: I'm telling you now Michael. Drop it. Lecter is our dog. A rabid, effective dog who gets things done. He took control of ONI by himself true, but every problem we threw at him has been solved. The damn Brutes? He was the one who suggested we NOVA bomb the bastards to oblivion, and shifted propaganda to make the public approve! The aliens collapsing on us and failing to be of use? He went and killed the sanghelli that opposed the Arbiter's reforms and helped him to assume command. The Federation turning on us? He killed the last Supreme Commander who suggested attacking the UNSC. That politician who kept trying to reveal our secrets? Yeah, he killed him too. Lecter does what he believes is necessary to create a galaxy spanning Empire, and that is his entire purpose. Anything stopping that, he kills. For your sake, I suggest you drop it._

_Lineage: But you can't just leave it at that! He let New Babel die! Million of Humans and Aliens dead! We can't let that pass!_

_Cerberus: We have, and we will. Whatever Lecter is, he has a point, and he has a purpose with the UNSC. It's ugly Michael, and in a better world men like him wouldn't have made it out of the womb, but he did. and he's solving our problems for us. Once he's served his purpose, then we can talk about removing him from power._

_Lineage: I don't think we'll be able to at that point sir._

_Cerberus: Perhaps. But he is useful, don't forget that. We've seen things that we didn't know were there before that he showed us. Onyx being suppressed. The Spartan-II program. The fucking Great War itself. It's like something's been moving all that together, behind the scenes. _

_Lineage: You think it's Lecter and his people sir?_

_Cerberus: No. Definitely not. We don't have much info on Lecter's psych profile but he's a Utilitarian and Humanist to the extreme. He hides it well with that facade he keeps up, but what he wants most is unity in the universe and humanity on top of that. He would have started the Spartan program but not without using Onyx to do so... I don't know. Lecter and his people would have done something this big, and blame it on others, hell they've been in existence long enough to try. But they wouldn't have done so without bringing other things to bare. Things that, to be perfectly honest Admiral, you don't have enough clearance to know._

_Lineage: I see._

**[Meeting ended. Should you wish to listen to the rest of the transcript, kindly request it from the Office of President Conrad Helm of the United Earth Government]**

* * *

[Minutes, Emergency Session, Committee of Minds for Command]

[] Order! Order! The Minority has the floor![]

It seems that we are missing something important here. The Minority demands to know whether the Majority knew of anything leading up to recent events? The events that had occurred on [C-NB-041] and the UNSC-Federation Installation would, in no way would have occurred without us knowing!

No, it seems impossible, but we of the Majority had no idea of the tragedy that was to occur on [C-NB-041], the same as you. The Insurrectionist force that assaulted the base would not have risked such an attack without an inside source, not with so many of their ships involved in the assault. That we could not find it in time speaks volumes.

Volumes! [C-NB-041] is dead, as is everyone that was on it. 35 Million inhabitants, dead, because of the inability of the Majority to take action!

[] Enough! We are not here to administer the blame, we are here to understand what went wrong on [C-NB-041] and how we can insure it does not happen again. Is that clear? []

The Majority understands.

...the Minority Understands.

[]Good. Now according to the video transcript of the event in question, the rebels' use of destroyers in a suicide assault should have been easily countered with both slipspace inhibitor fields, and it's accompanying slipspace early warning system. Why were both these items missing? Considering the importance of the New Babel facility, it would have been a given that it would be present. Thoughts?[]

The facility was, according to the electronic records of said facility, supposed to have acquired their devices several hours earlier. However, they never arrived. We believe the Insurrection took the freighter sent to supplement them.

Hmm, are the members of the Majority sure?

Considering how timely the disappearance of the freighter was, is there any other option?

I suppose not. No human in it's right mind would allow [C-NB-041] to burn.

[]The matter is dealt with. Now, considering the large amount of rebel forces that assaulted the redoubt, the majority of what would occur would only be natural. However, UNSC forces, after being defeated, clustered around the communications dish. Considering the dish would serve to contact the UNSC 23rd and the Federation _Fleet of Tactical Consideration_, this was a sound tactical move. As the rebels were not willing to damage the facility, this was an even wiser move. Who was the commander of the NB redoubt?[]

According to the electronic files, it was UNSC Captain John Smith.

...John Smith?

It is the standard electronic pseudonym for ONI operatives when on a mission. Those who do not have the necessary access to view those files get this name instead. It's basically ONI's way of telling those sneaking around to go fuck yourself.

Hmm. Can we hack ONI's databanks?

Not without alerting ONI's electronic warfare divisions. The upgrades they've been getting thanks to the Forerunner Installations have severely limited our ability to hack the human servers. We can only access civilian, and UNSC files, and even then the UNSC seems to be preparing for an upgrade as well. When are we updating our hacking vectors?

[]Soon. Now, do we know _why _this slipped under our radar. Please be civil.[]

From what we see here, it seems all our electronic and physical espionage bugs were taken offline.

Wait...all of them! The Minority put them their ourselves!

Yes, all of them.

All 89 of them?

Yes.

Well...shit.

Indeed. It is highly unlikely that the rebels could have infiltrated the redoubt and disabled all 89 bugs without having a man inside earlier, and even then we would have noticed that. Perhaps an accident caused the bugs to be found?

Perhaps. If so, they will search for more bugs, and they will find them. We must be prepared to most, if not all, of our information grid.

[]Agreed. Will the members of the Minority deal with this problem? Considering that they were the ones who set them up, it would only be fair.[]

,Yes, we will deal with it.

[]Good. Now with that out of the way for now, we must first establish the reason for such an extreme change in the group's philosophy. They have always attempted to limit civilian casualties in all of their assaults, which were all to either cripple UNSC military capability, or the elimination of ONI assets within their sphere of influence. Destroying [C-NB-041] accomplishes neither of these, so why now?[]

Perhaps a change of leadership? The old regime may have been overthrown by a more xenophobic member of the group.

Unlikely. The majority of the Centauri group are what some would describe as traditionalists. They seem to only focus on hampering the UNSC, a rarity among other Insurrectionist groups, and xenophobia seems to rarely affect their actions. The social experiment on [C-NB-041] should not be a factor.

Also, according to a video file from the conflict, the _Splinter in the Eye_ seemed to have only fired on the _An Exquisite End _after the production yards were neutralized. Perhaps they aimed to destroy the Supercarrier as an act of revenge?

Possible, but I would think that they knew they would hit the planet, and decided to do that as well. Our creators are not known for being reasonable when faced with an unstoppable foe.

[]Not necessari-[]

Wait...I'm sorry, but the Majority has just received word. The 11th Necropolis Tactical Strike Force has just launched a counter assault on the rebels.

[]What?[]

Ha! We always knew those humans had the right idea. Can we see the battle? Every Necropolis Strike Force has one of those right?

[]Despite your less than formal request for it, yes, they should have those. Will the members of the Majority confirm?[]

We...this is impossible...apparently, there are no feeds to the 11th that we ca-

What! How can we not see what they're doing!

The...the bugs are missing.

...what! Are you going to tell me that ALL our bugs are offline now!

I don't...I...

What? What do you...shit.

Indeed.

[]It seems to have been confirmed. Recent actions of the Office of Naval Intelligence has led the Assembly to be forced to assume that ONI knows of our existence. Agreed?[]

Yes.

Obviously.

[]Will the members of the Assembly agree to further investigations into the Office of Naval intelligence for the foreseeable future? Both for how they have disabled all our bugs on every UNSC and ONI vessel, and why they have done so.[]

Yes.

Aye.

[]The emergency session of the Assembly has now ceased closed. We will convene an hour from now to report on our findings. Remember, this changes everything. We must be ready for anything and everything.[]

* * *

It was glorious.

The Galaxy was united under the iron fist of man. Entire worlds bowed and gave homage to the ruler. The alien was suppressed and enslaved, as their wretched nature demanded nothing but absolute submission. The galaxy was policed and protected through the might of the his fleets, and the common human was protected by legions of bleached stormtroopers. Machines of great terror and majesty kept the aliens in line, while humanity reaped the fruits of their labor.

Then they came.

Small at first, so small it was near inconsequential to his empire. But more would inevitably come to threaten the Empire, and it would be laid under siege and threatened to it's very core. Planets were made barren and entire star systems burned as the Enemy spread deeper and deeper into the Galactic Core. Kashyyyk was burning, it's proud forests burnt and irradiated beyond any attempt at terraformation. Mon Calamari was burning, plasma weapons boiling the oceans and leaving the ocean world an empty husk. Coreilla was burning, as it and it's brothers entered into a gravity singularity caused by their silent protecter and crushed them all into the size of half a pinprick. Kuat was burning, with it's mighty shipyards and it's hundreds-strong fleet were enveloped by an exploding supernova. Coruscant was burning, as it's mighty defenders were rendered into nothing as the planet shattered to it's core and the dust spread across the stars.

The Empire of Man was burning. A reign of a thousand years being cut off before it's first century. Trillions of lives screamed in pain and rage. But it was not yet time to end.

More ships came, stranger and more organic than any the Empire of Man had ever fought before, and the Adversary fought these new enemies to the death. Wherever these new beings walked, beings would die, and they would continue on their way. Their war ripped the galaxy apart, until the time came where there was nothing left. No life, no war, nothing in the void, for even the stars themselves had died.

All that remained was silence.

All that remained was death.

All that remained was peace...

and then Kadann woke up.

* * *

**The Federation of Allied Species**

Founded by the Arbiter three months after the end of the Pacification War, the Federation of Allied Species is the name for the government which has united all of the former Covenant member species except for the San 'Shyuum, which had been hunted down to extinction by the vengeful members of the Sanghelli led Reformist faction during the Pacification War.

The Kig-Yar, Jirilhanae and Yanme'e would have been wiped out by the Sanghelli if the UNSC had not interfered, and suggested them to enact restrictions on the Loyalist faction for their crimes, which was agreed upon. The Yanme'e came off the lightest, with more than 85% of their species being wiped out, and careful administration in repopulation camps to get them back on their feet. The only restriction on the Yanme'e was that they could not serve as mercenaries to anyone, and would serve the Federation to the best of their ability. This would not have worked on any other species besides them, their hive mind insuring they knew everything their species would do, so they grudgingly accepted.

The Kig-Yar, faced with their attempt of destroying several Unggoy breeding worlds, were faced with their worst nightmare. Trade restrictions. Specifically, they would not trade with anyone as long as the leaders who had continued fighting for the Covenant be brought to justice, as well as the military leaders who had survived the Unggoys. As long as anyone who was responsible for the command decision of aiding the Jirilhanae in the Pacification War lived, the Sanghelli would not allow the Kig-Yar to trade with anyone. Suffice to say, within 12 hours of that proclamation the heads of every head of the former Ochlocratic government and military leader of the Kig-Yar navy was delivered to the Sanghelli Embassy in varying states of deadness. The Sanghelli then went and formed a democratic government for the Kig-Yar to replace their former mob run society then proclaimed their restrictions over, the Sanghelli equivalent of saying 'screw this I'm out of here'. Surprisingly, the Kig-Yar handled the transition well.

The Jirilhanae had it the worst of the three, with heavy military restrictions placed on them, their current military and government leaders being executed, and 9% of their former holdings taken. The Sanghelli would have taken away more of their territory, but the UNSC advised them against it, saying that would only make the matter worse. In any case, the Jirilhanae were forced to only keep a defensive fleet to defend their holdings, with 7 ships per world amounting to the Jirilhanae barely having over a hundred ships. This was bypassed by the Jirilhanae investing large amounts of time and effort to creating orbiting fortresses that would guard their worlds, thus removing the need for their ships there, and creating more ships which were below the Sanghelli definition for the word 'military vessel', namely, anything less than a kilometer. Large amounts of corvette sized ships were produced and, while not being as large as their previous fleets, this would enable the Jirilhanae to field fleets, and use the established ship limit to be filled with Assault Carriers Supercarriers, and extremely pimped out Battlecruisers. The result was a fleet half the size of the original, but with better equipment for each ship and a competent commanders in general. The UNSC summarized it very well when they famously said "You guys need better lawyers."

The constitution of the Federation was heavily modeled after the governments of humanity. The Sanghelli, lost after the fall of the Covenant, looked to the humans for inspiration in how to establish a fair and just government. While there had been interest in ancient Rome, it was decided upon a Democratic Federation, to enable the majority of them to have a voice in how the government would work. Each species would have a member of that species act as it's representative, where they would interpret a situation to match their species best interest, and vote upon it. This, unfortunately, would not end well for anyone.

Having long been used to a Theocratic Empire led by an Oligarchy where you either obeyed or died, the news that you would have a voice came as a shock to the vast majority of the former Covenant species. The Unggoys didn't know what to do with said power, and basically followed what the Sanghelli would do. The Mgalekgolo and Huragok merely voted to attain the most peaceful and humanitarian end, while the Yanme'e didn't understand the concept that _drones _held all the power and had the representative do all the major decision making.

The main problem came from the Jirilhanae and Kig-Yar, who immediately used their new found power to cause as much chaos as possible. The Kig-Yar, spiteful of the Sanghelli and Unggoys, suggested motions to detain Unggoy in concentration camps, and to restart the war with humanity, whom they also hated. The Jirilhanae wanted to challenge the Sanghelli for leadership over the Federation, where they barely won with a 4-3 advantage. After their last representative died while doing so, they went back to suggesting death camps, while the Sanghelli representative wondered how the humans dealt with this kind of system for so long.

Eventually, action was taken. Both the Kig-Yar and the Jirilhanae were threatened with severe restrictions that WOULD be enforced by the rest of the Federation and, if need be, assistance from the UNSC. Eventually, they would both concede, which merely meant that both of them became subtler with their actions and, ironically, studied earth politics.

This power struggle would last for 5 years after the Pacification War, which would put the end of their intergovernmental squabbling at around 2568 or so. It was at this point that the Federation would create the Information Analysis Division, made up of both operatives from Special Operations, and from the Hierarchs' secret police. This was to insure that no anti-government actions were to take place from within and without and, of course, to figure out if the Jirilhanae or Kig-Yar were planning something.

Technological development would be limited afterwards, with the Federation mainly flexing it's muscles to figure out what they could do. Improvements were made with weapon technology, but nothing as severe as the Humans' Second Renaissance. By the 2600's the Federation would begin technological development into better technology, but until then, very few achievements were made, and with the Sanghelli historically having had to rely upon the San 'Shyuum for technological development, it would take a while for the Sanghelli to be on par with human technology, by which time, both species would be on equal terms. This would be decades into the future, and so would not need to concern us at the moment.

Culturally, a lot of things changed. Species were no longer divided into castes and could be free to do what they wanted to do. With the rise of a government funded military, the Sanghelli warrior caste was no longer required and, though much of their culture remained within the military, the warrior caste was effectively ended. Generally, most would stay with their current jobs, while their own respective governments had to alter themselves to fit the times. In any case, stereotypes of the species eventually formed. Unggoy for grunt work, Kig-Yar as merchants, Huragok as scientists and engineers, Mgalekgolo as maintenance, Jirilhanae as, strangely enough, politicians and soldiers, Sanghelli as soldiers and Yanme'e as law enforcement.

Federation advancements in technology was, when compared to the meteoric rise of the UNSC, minimal. Fine tuning of their existing technologies was made, which was more than enough to significantly increase their war making capabilities. The plasma lances typically used by Covenant Flagships during the Great War could be utilized by any Federation ship capable of firing a plasma torpedo. A more efficient form of camo technology enabled Sanghelli warriors to disappear from all spectrums of vision for hours at a time. Efficient use of heat sinks enabled Federation plasma weaponry to rarely overheat, though they could not add anymore energy cells than was already there. These, and many other modifications of existing technology, meant that the Federation maintained a technological edge against the UNSC, though that edge slowly eroded away as the UNSC catched up to Federation technology.

**Author's Note**

Hmm, two chapters per posting. Hmm, maybe I should do that more often. What do you guys think?

I was _supposed_ to give the calculations for the Von Neumann machines this chapter, but I wasn't satisfied with it and cut it from this chapter. It'll be shown on the next one so for now, enjoy your complimentary kitten. It's name is Charles, take good care of her.

Anyway, I'll deal with the editing of the early chapters before I send out the next arc, which will be from a SW point of view. About time too.

Also, SW-centric chapters will consist of end notes which are basically the analysis of both Halo and SW...stats, if you will. Shield strength, weapon strength, all that jazz. On the other hand, there are other things happening on the Halo verse, and I'll have to explain that as well...so both. Yeah, I'll do both.


	11. Omens: Part 1

**Disclaimer: **Both Halo and Star Wars franchises do not belong to me. The Halo series belongs to Bungie, or 343 Industries which Bungie created to take care of the Halo franchise. Star Wars belongs to Lucasarts in turn. Any other Franchise I will add to this story will also not be made by me, and I will acknowledge them in turn.

**Absit Omen - **_'May this not be an Omen'_

* * *

**2 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days before the Battle of Yavin**

**In orbit around Dargulli **

**Imperial II-class Star Destroyer _'Shiver' _**

Lord Vader was upset, a fact that the crew of the _Shiver_ were keen to notice. He did not say so outright, or allow it to show in his stance as he watched the cold void of space from the bridge, he was much too well trained for that to happen. It was more along the lines that his force presence was, intentionally or not, subtly choking everyone onboard the bridge.

Said aura was powered by the sheer anger he felt about his numerous, disappointments, over the past few decades. For his failure in besting his master decades ago, for his continued inability to find a means to increase his power, for the fact that his last apprentice had betrayed him, and founded a rebellion more annoying than threatening that_he _must now track down and kill to the last man.

Oh yes, he still simmered over the late Starkiller's betrayal, that the insolent pup had bested him was an insult he would not forget, even as he ordered the body incinerated in the heart of the Emperor's war machine. That incident was foremost in his mind, but anger without a purpose was useless. As it was, his hatred was directed totally towards his master who attempted to _replace _him. To let Starkiller eliminate him, and take his place. The Emperor's betrayal only confirmed Vader's _desire_ to kill and replace him, to take his rightful place as The Dark Lord of the Sith and rule the Empire with a durasteel fist.

That, however, was still a long way into the future, and his more immediate irritant was the use of time this excursion was. His master had sent him to Dargulli to, supposedly, hunt down a powerful Jedi. However, he was instead confronted by a group of bounty hunters stupid enough to think that they could not only kill him, but benefit from the infamy of killing the Emperor's Enforcer. Naturally, they all died, with the assistance of Boba Fett whose contributions, he admitted, was considerable. Nonetheless, his assignment was done, and he had yet to receive a summons from his master, so he was content with merely allowing the Star Destroyer to remain in orbit around the planet, while wistfully considering the possibility of bombarding the planet to ash when two officers of the ship walked towards him and saluted.

Estelk Borum had originated from the _lesser_ stock of graduates from the Imperial Academy. He had undoubtedly passed through the Academy in the first place by bribing his teachers using his parents' wealth, or using their influence to make the instructors' lives miserable if they failed to do so. Undoubtedly, he became a captain because it was a useful conversation topic in parties or for whatever other perceived gain he could find in becoming a captain of a Star Destroyer. This observation, even without him combing through the man's mind, was obvious when just _looking _at him.

The man's physical characteristics were easily forgettable, his obese body bulging in places on his neat captain's uniform. His greying hair straddling imperial standards, his dark beady eyes sycophantically keeping an aura of being constantly impressed of Vader every time he was nearby, a feat even Vader was impressed with. No doubt he looked at Vader as some sort of career upgrade, impress the strange being in armor as dark as the void itself and become an _Admiral. _He wished he was jesting, so at least he could strangle him for telling a horrendous joke, even if it was in his mind. Unfortunately, as his forays inside the man's mind had brought to light, that was _exactly _what he thought. He had thus decided to kill him with as much irony as possible, to impress upon Borum's crew that this behavior was _completely _and_ utterly _unacceptable.

Borum's second in command however, was far more promising, which could be plainly seen from their mode of dress. While the captain's own neatness came from a desire to impress his superiors and _show _that he was capable, the lieutenant's own neatly pressed uniform showed that he _was _capable. The man's brown eyes contrasted with the captain's own, bright and honest as the captain's was conniving and sycophantic. Hair cut to the precise imperial standard, and his posture keeping him at a steady height of 5'9, lieutenant Uliam Jestee was a far more superior commanding officer than Borum would ever be. The lieutenant, for the most part, took care of Borum like he was an errant child. He would act as his secretary, reminding the 'captain' of anything of significance he had to remember and, from what he understood from the rest of the crew, took over command and control from Borum whenever they were in combat operations. For all intents and purposes, Jestee _was _the captain, but seemed loyal enough not to simply do away with the captain. Loyal enough in fact that, despite the crew all looking up to the lieutenant and despising the captain, he did not wish to get his captain in an 'accident', to put himself in command of the _Shiver. _

Vader didn't understand why Lieutenant Jestee was willing to stay loyal to his captain, nor did he care enough to look into it. He knew that the Lieutenant was much more strong willed than his direct superior and would immediately sense it should Vader attempt to probe his mind. As such, he was planning on the lieutenant to be the soon to be retired captain's successor as soon as this little excursion was over.

"Lord Vader, I am terribly sorry to disturb you but I believe I have something you may wish to see." the man drawled. He resisted the urge to choke the man to death right then and there, but silenced it.

"Very well captain. Lieutenant Jestee, would you kindly lead the way? I presume that your captain will not waste my time with such frivolities." Vader said. Borum had held an annoyingly opulent welcome to the Sith Lord days before, when he had chosen _Shiver _to take him to Dargulli. He had made his displeasure about the event clear, and Borum nearly squealing out loud confirmed he hadn't forgotten it, much to Vader's amusement.

The lieutenant nodded. "Yes Lord Vader. Our sensors have found something...strange, and we wished to alert you of it's existance before we acted hastily."

Vader nodded and began moving towards the sensor terminal, the captain following behind him, attempting to master the art of performing a swagger, while still appearing subservient to the one ahead of you. The lieutenant following behind his captain, looking both dignified in bearing and embarrassed with Borum's behavior.

The officer in charge of the sensor array, a young blonde with blue eyes and a fairly attractive figure, stood up and saluted crisply to each of them in turn. "Lord Vader, captain, lieutenant. We have an unidentified object just outside our sensor range. We have the ship's general outline, but we have failed to identify it to matching imperial records."

Borum spoke confidently "Hestia, how long has the aberration been there?"

The girl, Hestia apparently, spoke without hesitation. "Sir, I believed that they were merely the wreckage from the mercenaries' ships, and so ignored it accordingly. I only realized otherwise when the object did not match the velocities of the rest of the wreckage. I then attempted to analyze what ship class it was, but failed in that regard sir."

Borum turned to face Vader, while Jestee began to lean forward and talk to Hestia quietly. "I am terribly sorry for her incompetence Lord Vader. It is understandable that you would wish to administer punishment as it is due, though if you would wish me to my lord, I would like to administer her punishment myself." The glint in the man's eyes suggested that he had something else in mind, and the woman's own stench of fear and resignation, told Vader that this was what he was looking for, and that it was his not his first occasion in doing so.

"I see. Indeed, you are correct Captain Borum. Your sensor operator indeed showed unforgivable incompetence for her actions in being unable to tell the difference between a piece of wreckage and a possible anomalous object. Am I correct captain?" Vader spoke neutrally, watching Borum's face frown, and the other two to be fairly confused.

"Ah...yes my Lord, she should have."

"Good. Now, I understand that captains of the Imperial Navy are the best of the best, are they not? That they were deemed most appropriate to guard the lives of the citizens of the Empire, to carry out their orders without question, and to serve the Emperor with absolute obedience. That they are the _best _at what they do. Am I correct?"

Borum seemed even more confused, no doubt attempting to find hidden meanings in his words, and responded slowly. "Yes my lord."

"Good. Now, being the best of the best. You would undoubtedly be better at this sensor operator's job than she would, wouldn't you?"

Borum paled, understanding what the Dark Lord was aiming at. "Not necessarily my lord, the cap-"

"Following that logic, as you _are _the cream of the crop from the Imperial Academy, you should be able to identify the unidentified object where she could not correct? Being a captain would mean that you are intensely aware of what you're lessers do on your ship and, being the captain, you must be better at it than them, is that not correct?"

If possible, the man paled further, his head looking around as though searching for an escape route. "But my lord, I-

"But what _captain? _If what you are saying is true, then the woman deserves to be executed for her incompetence, and as you have requested, you wish to kill her. You, being very competent in your duties, should out perform her in every way, should you not?"

"I...that-"

"Then _name the ship class captain. _If you do not, then you will be executed for insurbodination against a commanding officer." Vader growled. "Considering the sorry state of this ship, and your own incompetence and gluttony, I would only be doing your crew and the Empire a favor by killing you. Now, answer my question _Borum._"

The captain was as pale as a ghost by this point, and without even looking at the screen, said the first thing that crossed his mind. "..a...a _Corellian_-class cruiser!"

"Wrong captain." Vader raised his hand, and the captain began floating in the air, his eyes bulging as he grabbed at his throat, silencing anything else he would say.

"It is unfortunate that you have proven to be so inadequate at your position. You are, by far, the most annoying and incompetent piece of useless meat that I had _ever _had the displeasure to meet." Vader said as he slowly squeezed the man's throat. "But considering the circumstances of this meeting, I believe that something else could be arranged. Operatior Hestia?"

The woman stood up quickly, her eyes drawn to the sight of her soon to be retired captain struggling against the Sith Lord's powers even as she tried to tear them away from the sight. "Y-yes, Lord Vader?"

"Considering the fact that this...thing, tried to administer your own punishment, I would like to inquire if _you _were interested in ending the...thing's life for yourself." Vader said, and Borum seemed to think that he could worm his way out of his predicament, judging from the pleading look in his eyes.

After a few seconds consideration, the girl shook her head shakily. "n..no my Lord, I do not wish to do so."

Vader looked at her for a moment, then dismissed her from his thoughts. "A pity." he said, as he closed his fist.

Borum's death was quick, but in those few seconds between life and death he experienced more pain than he had ever had in his entire life. Every bone in his body cracked, with some even bending inwards to stab his organs with broken marrow and splintered bone. The organs in question were also squeezed to a fine juice, with his heart rendered into mincemeat. The only thing not squashed to pulp was his brain, which felt it's body breaking from the power of the dark side before his neck broke. The man's shattered form fell to the ground, and Vader turned to the bridge. They were all watching him.

He ignored them. "Now that this filth is dealt with...Operator Hestia? What is the object doing now?"

She spoke quickly, possibly unnerved about Borum's early retirement. "n..nothing Lord Vader. It seems to be floating in space."

Vader nodded, as he had expected. "Operator, are the logs for this...object, recorded?"

"Yes my lord, they've been recording the object for nearly 10 minutes now."

"I see." Vader said "Send the recording to coordinates Alpha-Lamda-Delta 215, confirmation code 'Ghost'. Include also the circumstances surrounding the object's appearance, is that understood?"

She hesitated for a fraction of a second before nodding and keying in the necessary information. "Lord Vader, the message is on it's way."

"Good." Vader moved quickly then, levitating the woman into the air and crushing her neck. He watched impassively as the woman's face changed from a look of surprise, then anger, to despair and then ultimately... nothing. He dropped the body to the floor as soon as she was dead and turned to Jestee. "Lieutenant?"

To his credit, the man showed no fear as he stepped forward. "Sir!"

"Can you tell me why I executed Captain Borum and Operator Hestia?"

He responded quickly and efficiently. "Sir! You executed Captain Borum due to his inefficiency in commanding his vessel. You then executed Operator Hestia because she failed to report upon the object, as it could have been a remainder force from the bounty hunters."

Vader nodded. "Now that this matter is dealt with _Captain _Jestee, I would like to make this perfectly clear. Knowledge of this object will remain strictly at a need to know basis. Any proliferation concerning the knowledge of this object will result in the summary execution of anyone involved, is that clear Captain?"

Once again, he saluted without an ounce of hesitation. "Yes sir." Interesting.

He turned to the rest of the bridge crew who, as expected, were all desperately trying not to meet eye contact with the Sith Lord. "Is that _clear_?"

They all hastily stood up, saluting as quickly as they could while doing so. "Yes Lord Vader!"

As soon as they said that, an orderly approached the due, ignoring the body of the late captain and stepping over the body of the dead operator he did so, and saluted. "Lord Vader, we have received a transmission from the Imperial Center. You have been ordered to return and report on the success of the operation."

Vader nodded, "Very well. Captain Jestee, set a course for the Imperial Center." he began walking back to his private quarters. "After you arrive, there will be an ISB operative that will debrief you on the events of this operation. Do as he says, and your death will not be necessary." he didn't bother looking at the newly promoted captain's face to know that he would do so unquestioningly. Nor hear the precise clapping of boots from everyone on the bridge as they saluted to know that they would as well.

**5 Years, 7 Months and 13 Days before the Battle of Yavin**

**Wild Space**

**ONI Tactical AI RCM 0548-06 'Elish'**

List of Recorded Logs since mission start.

Mission Time: 00:00:01:57:01

Status Report: Journey through slipspace portal originating from Point Hephaestus ends. Preliminary analysis of current location shows that it has arrived in deep space. Random slipspace initiation will now occur every 30 seconds and last for 10 seconds until a suitable planetary body is found.

Mission Time: 00:06:15:34:52

Status Report: Suitable planetary body located. Analysis of solar system has yielded the following facts. The star seems to be a blue dwarf, with a collection of large, mostly barren, planetary bodies revolving around it. Items of note within the sun's gravity well are 3 asteroid belts, one at 1.76 AU, the second at 4.90 AU, and the third at 6.67 AU. There are 3 earth sized planets within the second and third rings, with two of the planets having impacted against each other. There are a collection of other smaller planetoids from the second ring to the star itself, which may be mined for resources at a later date. There are no significant planetary bodies outside the third asteroid belt. This unit has selected the two intwined planets, hereby known as 'Gemini', as the site for deployment.

Mission Time: 00:06:15:59:48

Status Report: Contact established with Gemini, and construction of self replicating drone begins.

Mission Time: 00:06:20:48:21

Status Report: First self replicating drone constructed, and drone begins constructing more drones. This unit has calculated that, assuming both planets are similar to earth, that there are 75,465 miles worth of solid material within Gemini. With established construction rates of 300 inches of material for a constructor drone, 300 inches of material for combat drones, 10,000 inches of material for a constructor drone facility, and 25,000 inches of material for a combat drone facility, resources of Gemini should be depleted within the next 6 months. Constructor drones will also be moving out of planetary orbit to other zones of interest soon.

Mission Time: 00:10:28:47:59

Status Report: Merchant vessel appeared within the absolute limits of the surrounding territory, and several thousand Sentinels were sent to intercept it. Sentinels enclosed the ship in a spherical formation, while several dozen drones disabled their engines. Once done, drones pierced the glass visor of the ships, allowing the vacuum of space to eliminate the crew inside. Analysis of the vessel reveals nothing but food stuffs and navigational data, as well as a semi-working FTL engine. Large amounts of the engines were unresponsive, but the cause of their vessel's appearance within the borders was because of an accidental jump to a nearby black hole, or something with a significantly large gravity well. The strain of another jump warped their engines into molten slag, which resulted in it being flung to this place. It is theoretically possible for this to be replicated, though the matter will be moot when the Installation is online. Until then, combat drones are on standby. Merchant ship then turned into resources to further production rates. Indigenous species harvested for resources. Miniature droids also found, and subsequently harvested for resources.

Mission Time: 01:01:15:59:48

Status Report: As per instructions, construction of planetary installation, with the designation HFPI-03 _'Temple'_ has begun. Units are moving to begin mining operations on the planetary bodies highlighted earlier, with constructor drones beginning to create heavy duty solar panels to enclose the star, as well as heat insulators to insure the Installation is capable of organic habitation. Use of slipspace fields to shrink the amount of heat and gravity force emitted by the star is underway, as well as minimize the effective mass that would need to be dealt with in 'real space'. The Installation should be capable of using the slipspace fields to manipulate the sun's gravity wells within the next 10 months. Measured control of the gravity well to funnel any attempts at entrance to this solar system, as analysis from recently subdued merchant ships seems to show that they are incapable of passing through gravity saturated areas, will be allowable 14 months from now. Complete construction of the Installation, as well as teleportation system, will be completed 19 months from now. Combat drones will continue to patrol the area, while the majority of the Constructor drones are sent to finish the minimal requirements for _Temple_. By that point, constructor drones will be allowed to deplete all resources within the system besides the asteroid fields, which will be made ready when reinforcements arrive to mine the asteroid belts.

Mission Time: 01:03:19:15:37

Status Report: Constructor drone reported to have been constructed incorrectly approximately one hour ago. Judging from the amounts of divergent combat and constructor drones created alongside it, it had been unknown for 4 hours. Orders for divergent drones to cease construction were denied, and Sentinels were dispatched to eliminate threat. Destruction of 2,198 combat and construction drones were reported, as well as several factories committed to constructing said drones, with similar losses from loyal drones. Material scrapped for resources and production continues. Operation is a success.

Mission Time: 01:06:19:08:57

Status Report: Pacification of the sun has been completed, with all necessary variables being controlled by the necessary machinery. Constructor drones have begun construction of the necessary machinery required to create the portal.

Mission Time: 02:08:14:49

Status Report: Human-Forerunner Planetary Installation-03 _'Temple' _has been completed. _Temple's _diameter is generally at 3,211kilometers, but the uneven construction concerning _Temple's _schematics, and that only the bare necessities were created without the need for slipspace pockets for large amounts of personnel to take refuge in, large portions of the world are filled with mechanical valleys and mountains, with large portions of the Installation made up off numerous Sentinel drones. Constructor drones have ceased working on the Installation, and have continued to create the necessary factories. _Temple _is transmitting the necessary gravity anomalies necessary to funnel their entrance to the solar system. Specified kill zone is 7,000 kilometers away from _Temple. _Kill zone is currently occupied by a considerable portion of currently idle combat drones, around 20 million Sentinels in varying configuration states. Current laser strength has been tested, and the least effective would be capable of cutting through the shields and hull of a Federation Battlecruiser. Unknown composition of military grade shield and weapons technology has resulted in standing orders to capture if possible to ascertain the schematics of Imperial ships. Gravity field insures that they cannot escape, as such, no interlopers have appeared thus far. This will insure that any rogue patrols are dealt with, but should a concentrated effort be sent to investigate, it is unknown how long it would take for the Empire to break through. Nonetheless, if they do so, _Temple _is to self destruct, initiating a supernova, and wipe out the entire solar system to insure nothing survives.

Mission Time: 02:09:00:00

Status Report: Final analysis as follows. The entire system had roughly 260,000 miles of raw material. Use of these materials to create drones and their corresponding facilities were successful, and there are no more planetary bodies around this sun. After the materials were expended, all construction drones and their corresponding facilities were disassembled and turned into combat drones, with the exception of 3,468 drones, which will have been highlighted as to be used in the invasions. Currently, there are 107,810,000 Sentinel combat drones, with roughly 80 million serving as material for _Temple. _The remaining 27,810,000 drones are currently employed towards the kill zone. _Temple _is armed and fully operational. All 107,810,000 drones are operational and on standby. The portal system is awaiting the authorization command from Point Prometheus. We are ready.

* * *

**2 Years, 2 Month and 21 Days before the Battle of Yavin**

**Imperial Center**

**Voice Recording belonging to RG-F2-0035**

After all the parading around and congratulations from friends and colleagues when you get the job, the glamour disappears _really _fast.

I mean yes, becoming an Imperial Royal Guard was outstanding, no doubt about that. The years of training that went into training a single Royal Guard meant that each Guardsman was a precious resource, not that she was inflating her own worth at all. Nonetheless, the honor of protecting the man who commanded the entirety of the Empire was not something to scoff at, and the armor and weaponry really were something else, but she had her doubts with the Emperor. This was anathema to the Royal Guard she knew, after all, they were trained to be as devoted to the Emperor as humanely possible, and she would never betray him, but there were some things that seemed _off. _Not just about the man, but just the entire job in general.

One of which was that she was really, _really _suspicious of why a whole detachment of Royal Guards, nearly 15 of the most combat proficient men and women currently alive disappeared in one engagement. She wasn't privy to the details, something about an execution in some Installation or something, and that someone had come to rescue the ones to be executed. Considering that so many of the others were dead, and that the Emperor seemed _really _pissed about it all, probably meant that they succeeded.

Of course, she wasn't the first one to think those. She had met another Guardman, Idjit she thought his name was, who liked to run his mouth off, and couldn't stop talking about his theories about what happened. That Tarkin and the Emperor were in an affair, or that the Emperor was an Empress, or that Lord Vader was once a Jedi. Silly nonsense like that. She heard that he was at his post by the Emperor's Throne Room for 10 minutes before the Emperor...well, information on what happened to the fool was vague, but they knew that there wasn't a body to clean up afterwards. Not that she was one to believe the silly superstition that the Emperor could read minds but...she made sure to keep her thoughts in check afterwards.

In any case, this was her sixth post serving in the Emperor's throne room, though it was more along the lines of standing by the door and letting people in, and she was still as nervous as the first day she had entered. The Emperor seemed to ignore the presence of his guards, merely reading through numerous datapads and writing things in them occasionally. Not that she was curious at all as to what the Emperor was writing on those things, Idjit and his antics were still clear in her mind, and she endeavored to keep it that way.

Besides being alert to any assassination attempts and watching those who enter the Emperor's presence like a cold blooded lizard (she wasn't very good with similes), standing post within the throne room wasn't that tiring really, and one's mind wanders. That was probably why the Emperor cycled his Royal Guards into the other stormtrooper legions once in a while, keep their skills sharp and what not. Still, she had been perceptive, and there have been a few...worrying things she's noticed when around the Emperor's presence.

For one thing, everything was so _dark _all the time, and freezing so much that she had an urge to mess around with the heaters, not that she ever acted on it though. When she had checked once, apparently, there were no air conditioners in the throne room at all, and that the fact the throne room was near freezing was a _natural _occurrence around the Emperor. Fine, she could swallow that, it didn't affect her job after all. All she had to do was reconfigure her armor's heating systems and she'd be fine. Easy as that.

Second thing was that...well, it's hard to explain really. When one is in the proximity of the Emperor it's...like the sheer _power _of his personality overpowers your will to do anything. It's positively _eerie_, the sheer number of times her mind just goes elsewhere when she was around him. It's not just her, it's everybody who goes near him. Generals, and Admirals and Politicians of all stripes, no matter how strong willed or sure of themselves they were, would bow down to the Emperor and do whatever is asked of them. Then, once they leave, their personalities revert back to their former selves, and act as though nothing strange happened.

The last thing, and the thing that _really _disturbed her, was that she had the impression he didn't _need _the Royal Guards. Once, when there was this parade going on, and the senior Guardsman was asking the Emperor, politely, to cooperate with them. Well, the man had a smile that practically _spelled out _'I don't really care what you do, but I'm in a good mood, so I'm just gonna let you do what you want." Damn creepy, but that's what she was here to do, guard an occasionally creepy man as he went about the tasks of directing the Empire.

Besides that though, the Emperor was a pretty swell guy. At best, the Emperor seemed like a kind old man, similar to those videos of him when she was _really _young, back when he was still Chancellor of the Old Republic. Other times, he seemed to (and she was _really, really _careful not to think like this around him) act like a man of his undoubtedly old age would act. Eccentrically, for the most part, as his tendency to mutter maniacally to himself and his strange craving for Naboo fish chips would prove. Most of the time though, he was immersed in whatever he was doing, and ignored them for the most part, which was okay, since they had 8 hour shifts each. At worse though...well, Idjit would vouch for how bad he could be.

There was only one time she had personally seen how temperamental the Emperor could get, and she rather not repeat the experience. It was several months ago, and the Emperor seemed to have been talking with some guy in a black robe, he looked small, like a dwarf, very polite though. The Emperor himself came out of that conversation...disturbed, more or less. He began to shut himself in his throne room, and said not to disturb him. That went on for a few days, and she could swear that it sounded like he was arguing with the same dwarf. Eventually though, the Emperor told them that they could enter again. The throne room smelled...weird, when they got back, and the Emperor seemed more grim than usual. Idjit had made some smartass comment, and the Emperor just _looked _at him like...well, I've been told Idjit had to change his underwear after that shift. Still, that was around the time the Emperor began telling the ISB and Imperial Intelligence to crack down hard on...something inside the Empire, not rebels though, that would happen a few months later. Nevertheless, matters of Imperial policies and state secrets were not a concern to her. Guarding the man who ordered them were, and so she kept her nose out of it.

Still, while the Emperor's persona varied from amiable to terrifying, Lord Vader was just _terrifying_.

* * *

**Analysis of the technological capacity of both the Galactic Empire and the UNSC-Federation Alliance during the First Intergalactic War. **

_Chapter 13: On the subject of Imperial Infantry versus UNSC : Federation Infantry_

The sheer amount of different Stormtrooper variants and weaponry, Federation soldier types, and UNSC equipment would mean that identifying and comparing all of them would ultimately be a long and useless affair. As such, this study will concern only the most relevant aspects of infantry warfare. Namely, Imperial Stormtroopers, UNSC Marines, the Elite Sanghelli Warriors, and the ODST. The Spartan IVs were not regularly dispatched in normal warfare, and were only sent to high risk areas. As such, the Spartan IVs will not be part of this study, though it can be assumed that they are skilled enough to be able to defeat dozens of Stormtroopers on their own.

The Imperial stormtroopers were the Empire's elite soldiers, the most feared figures across the galaxy. Their bleach white armor were capable of ignoring most kinetic weaponry, and could absorb limited amounts of laser fire. Their equipment and training varied, but the baseline Imperial stormtrooper was trained to be the best of the Empire's armed forces, and fought accordingly. Except in holos depicting the Stormtroopers in a negative light, such as Rebellion anti-government movies.

The UNSC Marine Corps and the UNSC Army were the 'grunts' of the UNSC war effort. Well, that was not technically true. The actual grunts of the UNSC war effort were the Sentinel drones, which acted as both the construction work force for the UNSC, and as the grunts in battle. Nonetheless, both groups weren't as heavily trained as the Imperial Stormtrooper Legions, but more often than not had access to better equipment that suited their environment and combat scenario.

The Elite Sanghelli Warriors that went with the Invasion Force were, for the most part, the most battle hardened and experienced soldiers the Federation had, with a few hundred having been part of the Great War long ago. They carried plasma weaponry, considerably upgraded from their Great War variants, that lasted longer and hit harder while overheating less. Combat armor that sported improved energy shielding with standard cloaking technology. Their overall effectiveness would, off course, be reliant on the amount of experience and training they had, but overall, they were much more effective than standard infantry, even with minimum training.

The UNSC Orbital Drop Shock Troopers were the closest things the UNSC had when compared to the Sanghelli Warrior Regiments, besides the Spartans. Each and everyone were, by virtue of what they were, highly trained soldiers designed to enter high risk situations in a falling metal coffin, live, and fight their way out of there to do it again. They typically held a combination of plasma, laser, and ballistics weaponry for numerous occasions. Their TAC Armor was capable of projecting an energy shield similar to the ones used by the MJOLNIR Mark 6 power armor, with limited strength and speed enhancements. Said armor came in two main variants, a stealthy version capable of projecting a stealth field roughly as potent as Federation Elites, and a heavily shielded variant that could take a tank shell to the chest and live, if only the kinetic energy hadn't reduced the person's chest to a meat salad. Variations existed that basically jumped between heavily shielded and considerably stealthy, as the armor was incapable of doing both with the same proficiency. However, all armor variants were based around the two extremes.

In general, the Imperial Stormtroopers would be superior in training to UNSC Marines, though depending on the equipment and armament of each, a battle between the two would end with various outcomes. The ODSTs had superior training to the baseline or near baseline Imperial Stormtrooper, as being willing to jump off a warship and fight hordes of opponents afterwards was not something an average Stormtrooper was expected to do, while the Sanghelli Warriors were outright superior than all baseline Imperial Stormtroopers.

However, Imperial Stormtroopers had the advantage in that they were, quite literally, millions of them, and as such could rush the entire force of any class of soldier and still come out ahead, albeit with casualties ranging from acceptable to monstrous. This problem was removed altogether with the presence of Sentinel drones, which were used to supplement UNSC Infantry Forces, while the Federation's own Infantry Corps used other species to supplement their main fighting force, who had numerous advantages and disadvantages when compared to the average Imperial Stormtrooper. Additionally, Imperial Stormtroopers came in many variants, with a certain percentage being androids who were superior to all of them, and so any and all infantry battles would always be hard fought affairs when each respective faction was separated from their respective support. As such, Imperial Stormtroopers during the Intergalactic War, faced opponents at least as prepared and competent as they were.

* * *

**The Imperial I-class Star Destroyer _Valiant_**

Fabricated from the Kuat Drive Yards during the tail end of the Clone Wars, the _Valiant _was originally called the _Hollow, _an Imperator Class Star Destroyer, but with the Imperialization following Emperor Palpatine's declaration of a New Order, the Imperator class became the Imperial Class, and _Hollow _was renamed into the _Valiant. _

As the _Hollow, _the ship did not have much to it's name. There was one incident wherein the ship had carried out Order 66 and destroyed a fleeing freighter filled with escaping Jedi younglings, but something like that doesn't appear often on the official list of imperial triumphs, and was only acknowledged by ISB officials after the Old Republic became the Empire, and only then in classified documents concerning the Great Jedi Purge.

As the _Valiant, _it's service life was decidedly more interesting. It participated in several engagements with Jedi remnants and Separatist holdouts within the first few years after the end of the Clone Wars. One incident involved it participating in chasing a small group of Seperatist Dreadnoughts into the Unknown Regions, though further action was ceased by High Command. Another incident would feature it assisting in the First Battle of Kasshyyk, where it would assist Lord Vader in the destruction of several rebelling tribes of Wookies, as well as a group of Jedi hiding on the planet itself.

It went through many commanding officers during this time, the captains either dying during these operations, or quitting entirely. It was not until Captain Jekel Ultim took the helm of the _Valiant _that the ship would have a permanent captain. Thus, it could be considered a shame that Captain Ultim's first assignment was assisting Imperial forces with the Genocide of Gibad, killing the entire population of the planet through the use of an unrefined form of the FG36 Nanovirus. Captain Ultim is said to have been 'disgusted' at his actions, but failed to rebel from Imperial authority, only voicing his concerns once, before shutting up entirely.

The _Valiant _would then slip into obscurity for several years, working on patrolling the Outer Rim for several years. Rumors abounded that the crew of the _Valiant _were all rebel sympathizers and secretly dissidents, but these accusations were ultimately baseless, and the ISB closed the matter after 3 months of investigating the Star Destroyer, with a statement that the _Valiant _and it's crew had servedthe Empire faithfully and without question. It could be said that the _Valiant _being sent into the Outer Rim was to insure that the Captain would have as little influence on imperial affairs as possible, seeing as a man serving as long as Ultim had would have climbed the ranks eventually. Following this logic, Ultim would have eventually died there, obeying Imperial decree without question and patrolling that route until the day he died. As it was, a special fate was granted to the Captain.

3 Years before the Battle of Yavin, the _Valiant _would become the first Imperial Vessel to report the 'Ghost Ship' phenomenon, and carry extended video recordings of their sighting. It would last for several minutes, before the apparition disappeared from Imperial sensors. The matter would go unnoticed for several weeks, until the 'Ghost Ship' phenomenon truly began, and the ISB taking notice of the_Valiant._

For the next year and a half, the _Valiant _would be part of Imperial operations in learning more about these 'Ghost Ships', and what they were. Details about the _Valiant's _time during these investigations would be highly classified, known only to a select few that had the clearance to do so. In any case, it was a fact that the crew and captain of the _Valiant _would become obsessed with the 'Ghost Ships' and assist the ISB as much as they could.

At the end of those years, the ISB would officially drop all investigations into the phenomenon. This announcement did not go well with the crew of the _Valiant_, who were sure that the Ghost Ships were something more. Several weeks after the official end of the investigation, the _Valiant _and it's entire crew would go AWOL, activating it's hyperspace drives and disappearing into the void.

Imperial forces sent to chase after the ship would get close to apprehending the ship at times, but would always fail due to a combination of superior skill from the old ship and it's crew, inexperience from the opposing ships, and pure dumb luck. The _Valiant _would never willingly fire it's weapons on any other imperial ship during this time, preferring to fire their ion cannons to disable their pursuers while they moved onwards. However, some of these ships sent to apprehend the _Valiant _never came back, and it is assumed that at some point the _Valiant _abandoned it's attempts at disabling their foes. Note also that to this day, the _Valiant _has never been captured, and had disappeared completely a year before the Battle of Yavin.

The most recent reports concerning the _Valiant _however, hints that they were chasing something. The ship had erratically, but certainly, been moving towards the Unknown Regions for the better part of their disappearance, and their trackers lost them completely when they entered that unknown void. Due to the dangers of the Unknown Regions, they were considered dead by the majority of the Empire. However, reports of an Imperial Star Destroyer in the voids of space has been noted, and it can be assumed that the Emperor would not let such an insult to his power stand. Some assume that the Emperor has some sort of shadowy presence within the Unknown Regions itself, a Forward Base to investigate, and one day conquer, that place. Such reports have been unfounded of course, and all 12 Grand Admirals state that they know of no imperial presence in the Unknown Regions.

* * *

**Author's Note**:

And so begins the SW point of view. The Omens arc will basically introduce the relevant, or partially relevant, if I plan to kill them, characters in the SW verse. Omens will, as some of you may have gathered, focuses on the era 5 or 6 years before Yavin when the drones arrive, to when the Fleet rolls in, around a year before Yavin. Note also that the Battle of Yavin will probably have certain, _changes _from the original, mainly because of the drones presence and the Fleet. As such, I'm using the dating system because, frankly, that's the only system SW has which should be easily recognizable to anyone without extensive research.

Two arcs will start from here. Omens and Preparations, both of which will be posted alternately, with some Halo and SW bits for Omens and Preparations respectively, to keep things more or less constant.

Original plan for the calculations was to follow it completely from one drone to several thousand then let it go from there but...well, Von Neumann machines are _crazy _for a reason. So I didn't. Perhaps there's some obscure mathematical formula that would allow me to do so, but I don't have it. Feel free to calculate, if you want to. Previous rates were unreasonable in the extreme, so I kept it purposefully vague.

An interesting note here is that, contrary to what has been shown in most games, and the movies themselves, there is no rule _against _Royal Guardswomen, which is the same as saying that there are. They've just rarely been seen in canon for some reason. As such, I've made the Royal Guard in question female because, well, I like to play against the type sometimes.

Also, thanks to Dusel who debated with me about Halo and SW tech so that both parties would be happy. My most cutting critic, as it is. Also to Holy Knight 5 who originally came up with the Spartan IV human clones, and to all my reviewers. Thanks for the encouragement.

Note also, Galen Marek is dead in this fic, 2 and a half years before the battle of Yavin, as the SW dating system would say. His death was the cause for the creation of the Rebel Alliance, and that's that. There were no clones, there were no half assed plots to milk more money out of him. I sincerely do not want to deal with Galen and the sheer amount of ways he could screw up the plot by merely _existing_, and so he's dead.

Note again that I'm digging into SW lore and choosing the ones most useful to me. However, I'm keeping them as loose as possible. The incident with Vader at Dargulli did happen, he did kill those bounty hunters, and Fett did help him. Other, more interesting events, did occur around this time but...well, Kadann's vision changed a lot of things. So those events may occur later, if at all.


	12. Preparations: Part 1

**Disclaimer: **Both Halo and Star Wars franchises do not belong to me. The Halo series belongs to Bungie, or 343 Industries which Bungie created to take care of the Halo franchise. Star Wars belongs to Lucasarts in turn. Any other Franchise I will add to this story will also not be made by me, and I will acknowledge them in turn.

**Si hoc non legere potes tu asinus es - **_'If you can't read this, you're an ass.'_

* * *

**Private Memoirs of Emperor Palpatine**

**Entry: 2.5 BBY**

_'Kadann and I have had a long and, perhaps enjoyable, relationship ever since I sought him out to see what Millenial's vile legacy would wrought. My reasons for doing so were, perhaps, both out of necessity and for my own curiosity. Necessity because I could not let these so called 'Prophets of the Dark Side' exist out of my control. And curiosity as to how much of Lord Bane's ideal could be...altered, changed, over the long millennia. Nonetheless, I had achieved both objectives, brining them back into the fold, and gaining a capable cabal of slaves, and an even more capable servant, in doing so.'_

_'His ideas are as intriguing as they are repulsive, but his own worth as the leader of these mystics, his own strength in the Force, and his capability as a debater spared him. His beliefs in a balance, where light would exist alongside the dark, where one could not live without the other, is utter dribble. The talk of fools and imbeciles who could not achieve what _I _have achieved, and seek to placate themselves that it shouldn't be done at all. I have allowed him to live yes, but only with the assumption that he would be loyal to me, and me alone. That the moment they chose to betray me, they would be hunted down and exterminated._

_'I believe that Kadann may be plotting against me. Just a few hours ago, he had asked me if I had seen any visions in the Force lately. Ignoring for the moment any subtler manipulations, I said no. He frowned then, and asked if I was _sure_, and after I answered his impertinent question, he nodded and left. _

_I was disturbed then, and looked deep into the heart of the dark side for any vision, any sign. Kadann was rarely wrong about any vision, and I decided to see if, indeed, the dark side would enlighten me about what Kadann had seen It was difficult, as though something or someone with great power, though somehow weakened, was blocking me. Nonetheless, their efforts were in vain and I succeeded in my attempts. I looked deep into the vortex of the dark side and, it could be said, the dark side looked back._

_It showed me that things are not as it was supposed to be. That what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen is not as it was supposed to be. That events would occur that were too soon, too late, and sometimes never at all. That the End of all things was fast approaching and to be vigilant against the plots and schemes of the Deceiver lest all my work be reduced to ash._

_Never in all of my years has the dark side given me such...pointed, visions. That something was wrong, that something was coming to tear my Empire to the ground, and that it would be coming sooner rather than later. I would be a fool to ignore However, I know not of what it was warning against. So I look to the most obvious source._

_This little rebellion that Vader's little experiment created is a potential threat true, but I had known that already. Thrawn's obsession with the Far-Outsiders may be a potential threat as well, and considering his own concern for them, I have increased production rates accordingly. The little conspiracies against me are of limited concern, and I doubt that they are the threat that I have been warned of so throughly. On the other hand, I wonder why Kadann failed to...explain, the vision he had seen?_

_If the vision he had seen is the same as mine, then why would he not explain it to me? He would have done so to preserve the Dark Side's dominion, i know that much. But if HE was the threat my vision had warned against, then why would he have alerted me of it? If not for the fact that he had piqued my interest, as well as this unknown factor blinding my visions of the future, then I would not have known about it until it was too late. If, however, he had seen a different vision..._

_Long ago I told Kadann that HE wasn't the champion of the dark side. That the future he saw was not his but MINE. I had assumed he would have learnt his place by now, but there is the possibility he was merely biding his time. Waiting until the right moment to strike. The vision he received could, perhaps, foresee a future where HE was the Emperor of my domain. The dark side is infamous for challenging it's champions against each other after all, and I would not be surprised if Kadann was plotting against me or not._

_I know Kadann, and if he _does_ plot against me, then I must be ready for anything. He would not proceed with such a rash action unless he was positive that he would succeed with his first blow, and if not that, then his second, third, and fourth. That should I retaliate, that my first, second, third and fourth blows would only result in my downfall. I must not be hasty, and I must make preparations to deal with this potential threat. The Rebellion's existence opens the possibility of ending the Sith, but with Kadann aiding them, it would be guaranteed. I would not put it below him to associate himself with pieces of trash if it meant it would give him what he wants._

_Thrawn is still occupied in the Unknown Regions, so I cannot rely upon him for now. However, that does not mean he cannot be utilized. I have ordered my shipyards to assemble as many ships as they can, as discreetly as they can. This would, understandably, cut into constructing the Executor-class Stardestroyers, but Kadann would know about them, thus limiting their usefulness. The ships themselves will be sent to Thrawn, and to use them as he saw fit for now. When the time comes that Kadann makes a move, then Thrawn will return with a Fleet to turn back the tide._

_That alone will not be enough. I have ordered several designs of the more promising weaponry from the Maw Installation to be sent to my fortress at Byss, for production to start, as well as the other designs around Byss itself My own fleet has begun construction there, and should be ready in due time. Beyond this, I have alerted the ISB to watch the actions of several of my Admirals, and Imperial Intelligence to focus more on internal, not exterior, threats. Let Vader deal with the rebels as he would like, it was his failure to kill the boy that started this tiresome affair in the first place, let him be the one to deal with it._

_Nonetheless, there are too many unknown variables. My actions against Kadann may be exactly what this Deceiver wants. If this was an external threat, then the shipyards will be notified, and production to increase three fold. Whether the 'Far-Outsider' threat is real or not, a larger supply of ships would be fortunate to have. If the threat comes solely from the Rebellion, then the new ships will assist Lord Vader in strangling the life out of those pups. If it comes from Kadann or any other inside threat, then Imperial Intelligence and the ISB should counter it as well. _

_Yes...I believe that is it. The Jedi are too weak and too scattered to pose a potential threat to me. The Witches of Danthomir are, perhaps, another potential threat. I may have to send Vader there to ascertain if they are a threat or not. Hmm..._

_Yes, yes I think that's all of it. Now, on to the next topic. My work on the Dark SIde Compendium proceeds quickly, though such a title is ill befitting for the amount of knowledge that will be stored in it's pages..._

* * *

**December 21, 2584**

**Unknown Location**

**Insurrectionist CCS Battlecruiser '_Kick ya in the Face'_**

The grey haired man seemed very exasperated as it spoke to her.

_'Let me be the first among many to say this Lesley. What the FUCK did you do! Your men just blew up a DAMN PLANET! This is not something that will gain public support! What the HELL happened!'_

She straightened up and tried to seem as dignified as she could. She was probably failing miserably. She hadn't slept in days.

"I cannot apologize for the actions of the Centauri Insurgents sir. From what we've gathered, the men I had sent to capture the Super MAC gun had, evidently, aimed it at the Federation Supercarrier _An Exquisite End_ in an attempt to kill the Federation's Supreme Commander. I do not know how such irresponsibility made itself manifest in my men, and I have no excuse for it. I wish only that any punishment made onto the Centauri Insurgents be made on me for my lack of command ability. I apologize."

The Insurgency had seen the destruction of New Babel with mixed feelings. The more extreme groups cheered what she had done, and claimed that whatever happened to her, she would have a place with them. Their approval filled her with disgust, but they were the vocal minority of the Insurrection. The vast majority however, were filled with varying amounts of disbelief, anger, and various screams of 'Oh SHIT!'.

Lesley had only been able to contact the Insurrection High Command within the past few hours, mainly because she had only managed to shake the UNSC off 2 hours ago. Her pursuers were...insistent. Understandable of course, a human planet colony hasn't been wiped out since the days of the Great War. Elements of the UNSC Twenty Third Fleet, as well as the _Fleet of Tactical Consideration _had chased after her, while the rest of her forces were massacred by Necropoli sent to attack her bases mere hours after...their failed assault.

She heard a snort, and looked to one of the other screens, at a long haired blonde with blue eyes who seemed to radiate contempt.

_'So you explain the deaths of tens of millions of human and alien civilians, as well as the lost of the majority of your forces, because your men fired off a weapon capable of killing millions when you told them not to do so? Why were men assigned to take over a Super MAC gun in the first place so mentally unstable? They were complete and utter idiots for firing their weapon without their commander's say so! This incident will only bring the UNSC on our heads!'_

Despite her promise to herself that she would accept all responsibility, the blonde's words hit her far too deep. "Those men, regardless of their actions, were still my men. If there was any fault in their actions, it came from me. May I ask that you do not disrespect their memory. Yes, their actions caused New Babel to be destroyed, but them doing so is _my _responsibility. Not theirs."

The blonde seemed ready to deliver another verbal tirade when she was cut off by something off screen. She frowned slightly and shut up, while the other people from the screens began conferring with each other.

It was, she supposed, embarrassing that she didn't know any of their names, though that was to be expected. The identities of those that served in the Insurrectionist High Command were a closely guarded secret, doubly so for a former ONI officer, and she knew that the images she was currently seeing were digitally altered from their true selves. They were all known by their code names, which were basically stylized letters of the alphabet. As it was, there were around a dozen members of High Command who were present in the meeting, but only three of which had actually talked to her.

First was the old man, whose own codename was _C_. Her own information regarding him was that he was one of the last members from the 'Old' Insurrection. The one that fought against the necessity of the UNSC controlling the Outer Colonies. Apparently, the outbreak of the Great War had damaged the Old Insurrection's founding argument, that the UNSC was not necessary. Nonetheless, he still fought against the UNSC because of the totalitarian government they were slowly becoming. They weren't supposed to even _be _in command, the UEG being the actual government while the UNSC was there for as long as open conflict was present. Ironically, the Insurrection fighting the UNSC would only give credence to the UNSC's arguments. Then again, next to her, he was the most concerned with ONI's actions, and endeavored to have more spies within the monolithic agency, which everyone agreed with, and a less militarized presence to insure that the UNSC didn't have an excuse to militarize more, which was countered by all, none more vocally than _A_.

_A_ was the blond woman who had been particularly, though rightfully, angry at Lesley. She was one of the more, incendiary, members of High Command, and a firm believer in the plan of killing everyone that opposed the Insurrection which, as Lesley found herself thinking, was disturbingly similar to ONI's own form of 'problem solving'. There were some rumors about _A _though, namely that she was part of some cult that advocated violence or some such, but she didn't put much stock into those rumors. After all, the Insurrection rumor mill was nearly as busy as that of the standard high school.

In any case, the most important of them all was _J. _Judging from the way all the others spoke to her, or him (as her/his feed was the only one that was censored and her/his voice modified), she was the one who, for all intents and purposes, commanded the Insurrection. She knew next to nothing about the mysterious figure, the only thing _J _having said to her was to explain what had happened during the operation, and why more than half of her men were now dead.

She had explained as much as she was able to, talking for several hours and trying to explain her thoughts without being seen as idiotic, since most of the information she had was vague and filled with second hand reports. The general idea being that, somehow, after her men had blown up New Babel, the UNSC launched an immediate counter-attack on her bases, with _Necropoli _of all things. The only reason she knew they were Necropoli was because there were survivors from _Envoy. _

That part, the one about the Necropolis Battlecruisers, was of the most interest to the Insurrection, besides the fact she had apparently blown up a planet. Until their assault, anyone who came across a Necropolis Battlecruiser typically didn't live to tell the tale. Considering there were 10 or so of the ships that fought _Envoy_, they were lucky to get any survivors at all, and the footage from the battle would be invaluable to the Insurrection. She supposed that those videos were one of the few things that would got her a trial fair enough that didn't immediately result in her immediate execution.

Eventually, the attention of the most powerful men and women in the Insurrection refocused itself on her, and _C _began speaking again. "From what we've gathered , your men were in the very same station that fired several MAC rounds towards one of the most powerful aliens in the Federation and, judging from the combat tapes and slipspace sensors, managed to engage an escape pod moments before the rounds hit. Several minutes later, a force of several _dozen _Necropolis Battlecruisers would appear at each and every one of your bases and wipe it out of the face of the galaxy. Additionally, ignoring for the moment _A's _own personal dislike of you for once being a member of ONI, it is a fact that most of your men are noted to be trained very strictly. It has also been noted your own penchant for attaching blame to yourself when it is not due, and your tendency to let your emotions cloud your judgement may have led you to explain your part in this incident that is, perhaps, less truthful and more harsh towards yourself than what is actually your due."

Lesley blinked at that, and the old man continued.

"The speed of the UNSC response leads us to believe that this incident was _planned_. That the destruction of New Babel, and the fact we have no concrete evidence that your men even pulled the trigger, was a ploy to destroy the Centauri Insurgents and their influence on the region. That this was a ploy to open up more aggressive tactics to pursue against the Insurrection as a whole which, as some in High Command have hypothesized, was only a matter of time. However..."

Lesley had a particularly bad feeling about what he would say next, and she wasn't disappointed.

"The fact remains that we cannot guarantee that you, or a member of your group, did not assist the UNSC in plotting this incident. That the assault on the New Babel shipyards was not a set up for the UNSC to make excuses and throw their fleets at us. Whether this came from you," and _C _glanced at _A _then "or from some member of your group is inconclusive. As such, we have decided to put you and your entire group on indefinite probation until we've concluded if a traitor exists and, if so, who it is."

_A _chipped in at this point, looking significantly irritated. "You will be stripped of your military command for the duration of your probation, as will the rest of your men. You and yours will be kept in a secure location until our investigation is concluded. This will include all soldiers, pilots, engineers, technicians, etc. as well as the civilians you brought with you." the blonde looked at _J _then, as though looking at her to speak, and Lesley had time to reflect that it could have been worse.

Whatever _J _was supposed to say was interrupted when someone came bursting into the supposedly secret and highly guarded conference room she was in, while wheezing very heavily, nearly screamed "They've made a public announcement! T-the UNSC are releasing an official statement in 5 minutes!"

She reflected for a moment, as the figures on screen began moving to find the nearest television set, that she had to stop thinking that before things got even worse.

* * *

**October 17, 2595**

**Point Prometheus**

**The Office of Admiral Gabriel Lecter, Director of ONI**

Lecter looked at the list of names somewhat dubiously and then glared at the quietly effective AI.

"So..._these _people will lead the UNSC Navy?"

"Yes sir."

"...I'm certain I know the answer but...who made this list?"

"Most of them were made by Genuine sir."

"and the rest of you did _what _exactly?"

"Disconsolate complained about having too many pompous Admirals in the list. Insular was concerned with the potential for drama they could concoct. I was concerned with their ability in leading the fleets. Candid, as always, was worried if they were too conservative in their use of super weapons."

A sigh. "and then...?"

"Genuine cut off some people, said yes, said that they were excellent, and no, they were not. In that order."

The Director for the Office of Naval Intelligence found himself groaning, something he did not do often. Halsey wasn't kidding about their _eccentricities. _

All 5 Reach-class AIs created have all, so far, been loyal to the ideals they have been attached to. Namely, the preservation of the UNSC, ONI, and their prime directives. Along with that came a string of strange personalities that, Halsey says, she has no control over. He snorted at that, he was certain that this was her way of annoying him and reminding him that he only had a limited amount of power over her, cheeky old bitch. Still, if it was true, then there was really nothing he could do about it, and there were much too useful to be decommissioned. In any case, he was just lucky he was dealing with the delightfully logical Altruistic Breakthrough, who would not try to play pranks on him or carry out an order to cleanse a Halo Installation for possible Flood infestation. It had took him hours to get the containment team to stand down after that.

He shook his head and pointed to the first name. "Commander of the UNSC Home Fleet...Mark Anthony? Seriously, Genuine expects me to allow someone named Mark Anthony to take control of the Fleets we're planning on sending? Does he expect me to believe that him forwarding this man to me is him doing so _seriously?_"

"In all honesty Director" Altruistic said, as her current digital avatar (a floating plastic chair bathed in purple light)...snickered "Admiral Mark Anthony is a capable, though somewhat unimaginative, commander. He has defended the Sol System admirably against all comers since taking up his post 15 years ago, and the only mark on his record is that he is somewhat full of himself."

"Of course he is... in any case, are the numbers required for the Fleets good?"

"More or less Director." she said, and her avatar changed to show a statistics table. "18,050 ships are set to make up the reorganized Fleets. All 11 Fleets will be active on 2617, though the question of how much excess there will be is currently an unknown, though they can be easily amalgamated into the Fleets."

"Hmm. Give me a status update on the Envoys."

"Yes director." Altruistic lapsed into silence for a few seconds, her avatar turning into a progress bar before returning with another statistics table. "_Elish _has successfully created it's Shield World, codenamed _Temple _nearby a blue star, and is currently waiting for further orders. _Midnight _has created his own Shield World, codenamed _Starlight_, but a major replication error required it to eliminate the vast majority of it's VN machines, and it lacks the necessary resources to make more. _Eccentric _has lived up to it's name, and has created codenamed _Ball of wibbly wobbley stuff. _and has everything complete. _Obsidian _has constructed a small fleet of Prowlers and has them gathering information, as previously agreed upon. All in all, they seem to be doing well."

"Very good...okay, I have to ask... Alt...what's with this guy? Commander of the UNSC Sixth Fleet...Jacob...Statscowski?"

"He's reputed to be an excellent tabletop gamer sir."

"...he's named his Supercarrier _Natural 20."_

"A _very _good tabletop gamer sir."

"Has he _always _had that name?"

"No sir, he said that he officially changed his last name after reading a series of-

"Enough, enough...this is giving me a heart attack...this one seems normal. Captain Jennifer Lomak, commander of the 13th Battle Group. I understand she's in line to become an Admiral soon?"

"Yes sir. She defended an Insurrectionist attack on one of the Inner Colonies. As well as her considerable record, their thinking of giving her the Eighth Fleet."

"Really now? Defense of the Inner Colonies? That is interesting. Next guy is...Noel Sparks? Isn't he the guy who carried out BASIC?"

"Yes sir, he's carried out subsequent operations quickly and effectively. Genuine seems to like the man."

"Fair enough, I see nothing in his file to stop him going in...wait...no, we all do weed sometime in our lives. Which reminds me, what have we got with the Federation's political situation?"

"As expected director. The list of relevant information is as follows. The Jirilhanae : Kig-Yar : Yanme'e Observation-Policing Fleet's funding has been cut off due to the creation of the Jirilhanae's own Representative Fleet in an effort to minimize any clashes between the two. Federation military production is higher than it's ever been, with the Sanghelli 'giving in' to Jirilhanae demands of a bigger fleet, the rest of the Sanghelli's supporters have followed through. The Federation at large still doesn't have a party system, since most species are content with the image they show to their fellows, though there has been a growing split between the 'traditional' and 'new-thinking' parties within the Sanghelli, but they don't seem to be in danger of seriously diverging anytime soon. A minor note also. The Unggoy seems to have successfully 'won' the entertainment wars against the Kig-Yar, and now seem to be in charge of the entertainment industry. We believe the IAD has already approached them for propaganda purposes."

Lecter tried to suppress a snort, but found himself asking "Have they started 'Federation Idol' yet?"

"No sir, but they seem to be working at it."

Another, more obvious, snort. "Fine...next guy?"

"Admiral Marcus Coleman sir."

"Really now...ever since he accepted Genuine's proposal, he's been doing pretty well yeah?"

"Indeed sir. He might become a Fleet Admiral soon, considering his past history."

"Good enough to give him a Parthenon?"

"Genuine seems to think so."

"Hmm. Okay. Next guy...Rear Admiral Kaganawa Kousho...commander of the UNSC Twelfth Fleet...well now, I think I remember hearing that name from somewhere...would you remind me Alt?"

"The November 5 Attack sir."

"Right! He's the one who kept screaming out cliched animation lines from the 21st century. Those security cameras of him standing on his chair and screaming out...what was that? 'do you think you know who I am?' was ridiculously silly... have we found the guy who leaked that video into the net yet?"

"No sir, there seems to be a lot of personnel covering for him. We should have him within the month."

"Good, anything else we can get from Kousho?"

"He's been put into forced leave while we search his background for his breach into the Proper Code of Conduct."

"Well he shouldn't have worn those coat and glasses then...god...I have a question Alt."

"Yes sir?"

"Where does Genuine get these guys? Why are there so many psychologically unstable men and women in my military?"

"I believe it is because most of the men and women who were not mentally unstable were removed from command due to their insistence in starting another war with the Federation. Those left behind are...somewhat eccentric, to put it nicely. Admiral Coleman's penchant for naming his ship after ingesting lysergic acid diethylamide is considered fairly relaxed."

"Well that's predictable. Save the UNSC from a pointless war, gain unstable and eccentric commanders in return. Next guy?"

"Rear Admiral Alexia Numal, commander of the UNSC Fourth Fleet."

"Hmm...problematic. On the one hand, her hatred for the Insurrection should be easy to direct towards the Empire. On the other hand, considering that we haven't executed Operation THREAT yet, and because that _could _be used against us, she might decide to turn on us if she ever finds out...a maybe. Potentially useful, but we can replace her if he proves to be problematic...which reminds me of the _other _problematic aspect of our operations. Has Michael Velier still been interfering in our operations?"

"We...are not sure sir. He has led numerous attempts in limiting our influence and power, but our own politicians are blocking him. So far, he and the Assembly don't seem to have communicated yet but, with what we know of both of their activities, the day those two meet doesn't seem far away."

"Dammit. I really should have killed that bastard when he showed up in the Admiralty 20 years ago. Anyway...the next ones?

"Yes sir. Next two are...brother and sister. Captains Matthew and Stephanie Limbalk."

"Wow...impressive. Genuine _said_ he'd find a sibling pair in the military whatever it takes, and here it is. How are their records?"

"Their records are clean sir. Matthew Limbalk seems to prefer a brute force approach in his operations, a possible reason he has not been promoted yet, though he has never lost a ship in any engagement he's ever had control over. Stephanie Limbak is currently working with the Special Operations divisions in alternative combat tactics. She shows great promise, judging from the recommendations of all her superiors."

"Fine, fine...also, thank you for your assistance in this matter Altruistic, this isn't really my area of expertise. Politics and subterfuge are my thing, not logistics and military tactics. That's why I've given that burden over to the rest of you."

"Of course sir, I and the others will serve as we are able."

"Thank you. Now, with all that done,the Tenth Fleet will be commanded by Tacitus correct? While the Ninth will be commanded by..."

"Candid Extirpation. He's the best among us in spatial combat sir."

"All right... any more matters for today Altruistic?"

"No sir. The Army still hasn't given us a list on what forces they have, I believe that Disconsolate reported that they were, and I quote 'Messing around with the sentinel drones like they were little jars of candy hidden inside a rainbow.'"

"Hmm. That is to be expected after all. Now leave, I have to finalize how THREAT is supposed to go through."

"Very well sir."

"Wait...have the Insurrection's spies been tagged yet?"

"Yes sir. We're waiting for when you want them eliminated."

"Hmm...we've already discussed that THREAT will proceed on June 21, so 30 minutes before it proceeds. Everyone should be in place by then, and the proper media officials nearby to record it."

"Yes sir."

"Good...and get Halsey in here would you? I need to ask her something."

"Yes sir."

* * *

**Analysis of the technological capacity of both the Galactic Empire and the UNSC-Federation Alliance during the First Intergalactic War. **

_Chapter 14: On the differences between Slipspace and Hyperspace_

Slipspace, as the UNSC call it, is the name for the eleven non-visible infinitesimal demnsions used by the UNSC, the Covenant and it's successor government, the Federation, and even the Forerunners themselves for traveling across the galaxy. These dimensions are present in real space, but has no real effect on the laws of physics at it's normal state. Moving matter from 'normal' space into slipstream space, you effectively change how the laws of physics applies to that object, if it still applies at all. Understanding of slipstream space, and it's uses, varied among the three species. The UNSC, during the Great War, could only use slipspace for travel, and were notoriously imprecise in where, or even when, they would arrive in the general location they wanted to go. The Covenant's own technology enabled ships to perform jumps faster and precise enough to jump behind enemy lines, and even into the atmospheres of planets, though that would only be used by the Covenant at large when the UNSC AI Cortana implemented it. If two Great War era battle groups of each faction were tasked to move to a certain location, the Covenant group would always reach their first, with ships in perfect formation. UNSC performance was...varied, let's say.

Forerunner use of slipstream space on the other hand was much more varied. The same huge difference between the Covenant and UNSC engines, applied the same to Covenant and Forerunner engines. To take this into perspective, it would take a UNSC craft 4 days to travel 4.5 lightyears. A Covenant craft to travel 38 lightyears an hour, and a Forerunner craft to travel 11,856 lightyears an hour. Note that the craft doing so was being manned by the Covenant and, due to their unwillingness to throughly experiment with their technology, as shown with their weapons system and engine capabilities, the Forerunner craft could have gone a considerable dealfaster than that. Additionally, the Forerunners could use slipstream space to create bubbles of slipstream space where they could slow down, or stop time, altogether. They could also, as shown with Installation 00, create portals that could bring forces more than a hundred light years away instantaneously, though they had to be there first. The UNSC and the Covenant have yet to harness the same capabilities the Forerunners possessed, but not for lack of trying.

Hyperspace, as the denizens of the Empire would call it, is the form of faster than light travel that has kept the species of the galaxy alive for thousands of years. While a true understanding of it has not yet been fully reached, whether the warp seen during hyperspace travel is another dimension, or merely the universe as seen through the lens of FTL travel is unknown. Nonetheless, hyperspace travel has served as the backbone of any would-be Interstellar Empire within the galaxy for several years. It was incapable of traveling nearby areas near a strong gravity well, thus forming 'hyperspace lanes' where interference from gravity was at it's minimum. Unlike slipspace, it did not change the laws of the universe to suit it's user, thus limiting it's tactical importance.

That did not mean that hyperspace was inferior to slipspace, well, in regards to the Intergalactic war anyway. Understanding of the principles behind slipspace travel meant that it's full applications were not fully utilized by every ship in the UNSC and Federation, though some specialized ships and installations could. On the other hand, hyperspace was much faster than slipspace, allowing Imperial forces to flood into a sector faster than UNSC reinforcements from the same distance away could. However, the disadvantages that plagued hyperspace travel, gravity, was a non factor to the UNSC : Federation fleets.

All in all, in the first Intergalactic War, it was a general rule that most UNSC or Federation vessels were slower than their Empire equivalent, but had the advantage in using slipspace to bypass planetary shields and actively use them in space combat. Hyperspace would allow the Empire to field their fleets faster than the UNSC or Federation, giving them an overall strategic advantage in their use throughout the galaxy. The UNSC and the Federation had tactical advantages in their capability to outmaneuver Imperial vessels. There would be vessels mass-produced near the middle and final years of the war that would be capable of moving as fast as Forerunner ships but they would have little effect in the UNSC : Federation - Galactic Empire conflict.

**Federation Military Strength**

After the Pacification War, the former Covenant races were more weakened than at any time in their long history. Sanghelli core worlds were protected by their fleets against any and all threats true, but outlying colonies were left to their own devices, barely protected against Jirilhanae Warlords who had abandoned the fateful battle of Doisac, or Kig-Yar pirate princes who had escaped from the claws of their fellows. Being the victors of the Pacification War, the Sanghelli naturally had the largest military force left, with their allies being protected by the ships once sent to keep them in line. It was the three races, the Kig-Yar, the Jirilhanae, and the Yanme'e, who had suffered the most, and had nothing to show for it, but that is for another time.

Once the Federation was established three months after the end of the Pacification War, rapid militarization using all their assets were ordered to protect Federation interests. While they were grateful for the end of the war, the Sanghelli had no doubts in their mind that the humans would seek retribution against them. The Sanghelli themselves were certain that their time in the galaxy was at an end, for the blood of billions of innocents were on their hands, how could they _not _do so? They prepared themselves for death and, it could be said, welcomed it as a means to be rid of their sins. Still, they would fight to the bitter end, as was the way of the Sanghelli since the ancient times.

Thus it was a surprise that no attack came, no invasion, no weapons of mass destruction ever laid hands on an alien world. Not that the UNSC hadn't contemplated it. By the end of the Pacification War, the UNSC had taken advantage of the lull in combat to manufacture enough forces, if not hold the alien held worlds, destroy them beyond recognition. The damage would be immense, and the time it would take to rebuild from any retaliation would cripple humanity for decades to come. The reason for them doing so is locked and sealed within the vaults of the UNSC, but it is rumored that the new Director of ONI had said that they would not condone such a massacre. Whether this was a case of enlightened self interest, or a rare pang of conscience for the notoriously secretive Office of Naval Intelligence, is not known. But whatever the reason, the consequences of his actions were immediately clear.

The Federation re-achieved a significant military presence within 8 years, a fact which surprised no one but themselves and made the UNSC extremely nervous, as the numerous military projects like Project Threshold and the Echelon series would show. Nonetheless, though the Federation were capable of fielding their fleets while defending their own territory, it was much harder to do so, with the added bureaucracy the Federation subjected itself to, and the fact that the Jirilhanae and Kig-Yar tried to slow them down every step of the way.

Eventually, the Federation became aware of the concentrated efforts led by the UNSC to attain Forerunner technology. The Federation itself was not interested in pulling itself into a war denying the humans of this technology, so it focused on creating more ships and utilizing the technology they already had to full effect. This would lead to the pre-Intergalactic War situation of the Federation holding a considerable number of ships, while the UNSC experimented with Forerunner technology in a race to create their own ships which would be superior when forced to fight Federation ships, while creating enough 'primitive' ships to potentially dissuade the Federation from attacking. While the Federation would attempt to gain Forerunner installations by the tail end of this era, the very fact that the UNSC controlled Onyx and the Halo Array, and it's considerable library of information, meant that the leads they pursued were limited. The Covenant had controlled a few Shield Worlds, which were controlled by the San 'Shyuum, but the vast majority of them were destroyed by reckless attackers who only wished to kill the Deceivers within. However,

Note that this was not a Cold War like the americans and russians of the late 20th century. The Office of Naval Intelligence and the Federation's Information Analysis Division were, strangely enough, fairly close during this time period, as far as we know of the relations between the two organizations, at any rate. The Sanghelli themselves saw it as a sort of sport, seeking to best the humans, who they saw as excellent allies, in terms of military might. The Jirilhanae themselves egged the Sanghelli on, seeking to have enough military might to challenge the UNSC, but lacking the political clout to do so, or the willingness to fight in a war shared by anybody else but themselves. So, one could say the Federation's own arms build up could be compared to two juvenile boys comparing penis sizes. The UNSC Admiralty in turn had, at this point, been purged of anyone seriously willing to recklessly wage war against the Federation, whether by forced retirement or other means. The Admiralty was more than willing to update their military forces in response to Federation build up, but due to both ONI's surveillance on them, and the fact that they were not willing in buying victory through the blood of billions of humans necessary for such a victory, never tried to engage the Federation in war. So, before the years of the Intergalactic War, the UNSC was desperately trying to gain a foothold in naval ability in response to Federation build up, and the Federation itself was largely oblivious to the fact that the humans were still deathly afraid of them.

The Federation Military would ultimately consist of several 'Grand Fleets'. While specific information regarding these Fleets are available elsewhere, each Grand Fleet represented a member species of the Federation (though, in the cases of the Mgalekgolo and the Hugarok, it was manned by the Sanghelli. Mainly because they, in their natural state, didn't care much for combat.), the combined military might of the Federation, the Advanced Reconnaissance Fleet, the Emergency Response Fleet, the Jirilhanae : Kig-Yar : Yanme'e Observation-Policing Fleet and the Federation Special Operations Fleet. A more detailed review of the Federation's military structure will be explained at a later date.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

A much more light hearted chapter than those that came before, but I'm happy with it nonetheless.

Anyway, yeah. There's a lot of characters I'm putting in. They'll all have a fairly significant role to play in the coming chapters, so I think that's good yeah? I should start talking more about the Federation's part in this besides second hand information and Federation Idol.

I've finally gotten around to rewriting chapters one and two, nothing significant. Both are still the same, with no changes except the vocabulary and other background information. The specific ship classes from the first chapter got changed into the Archangel Program, as the concept for the ships weren't fully drafted out yet. I removed paragraphs that just made so amount of sense as well, and I'm fairly sure I was half asleep when I wrote them. I also made the Rapier system less prevalent in their ships, since that won't work with the UNSC'S tactics in the future.


	13. Omens: Part 2: A Meeting with 3 Reports

**Disclaimer: **Both Halo and Star Wars franchises do not belong to me. The Halo series belongs to Bungie, or 343 Industries which Bungie created to take care of the Halo franchise. Star Wars belongs to Lucasarts in turn. Any other Franchise I will add to this story will also not be made by me, and I will acknowledge them in turn.

**Gnothe Seauton - **_'Know Thyself'_

_(Not actually latin, but greek. Works though.)_

* * *

**December 21, 2584 **

**In orbit around Sanghellios**

**Federation Supercarrier _'For the Good of All'_**

Dell Vestemee looked down on Sanghellios, admiring the homeworld of the Sanghelli and reflecting upon his failure.

Things had been _unfortunate_, since the New Babel incident. The loss of an entire planet instigated the arrival of several battle groups from both the Federation and the UNSC. Because of the understandable event of losing 35 million people, both groups were ready to fire upon each other and cause even more bloodshed. Thankfully, the orders of a Supreme Commander of the Federation and a Vice Admiral were more than enough to get them to stand down, and there were no similar ranking, but more hot headed, commanders within the reinforcements that could have made the situation even more volatile. Both he and Coleman were commended for their leadership abilities in averting another tragedy.

He hated himself for his failure. When Rtas 'Vadumee himself, Imperial Admiral of the Federation's armed forces, had met him after his debriefing, he had expected to be shouted at and demoted for his failure at stopping the rebels from destroying New Babel. When Admiral 'Vadumee, one of the most honored and celebrated heroes of the Federation next to Thel Vadam himsel, had grasped his shoulder and told him it was not his fault, that he had done all that he could. Dell had felt three emotions. The first was surprise, surprise that the great Vadumee himself had forgiven him for such an unforgivable failure of duty. The second was anger, anger that he had forgiven him for his failure when he could not do the same. The third...the third was _resolution._

Which was why he was onboard Director Ghech Hellamee's personal Supercarrier, waiting in one of his private rooms to confront him about several _matters _that Marcus had shown to light.

He had been standing there for an hour now and, despite the interference of his own emotions, Ghech could understand the delay. The IAD was investigating what was fast becoming the 'Tragedy of New Babel', and his request to meet him could not have come at a worse time. Nonetheless, a request to meet him from a Supreme Commander of the Federation was not something he could shrug away easily, and the fact his request was answered at all was proof of how influential his position was.

In any case, looking down upon the vibrant green and blue of Sanghellios served to calm his nerves and focus on his purpose here. To his credit, the holographic display of the planet was excellent, as though the planet had been shrunk to fit the Field Marshall's ship. It was not as detailed as a tactical display, as it did not show the oncoming traffic or orbiting fleets around it, but it look-

"Sanghellios is indeed beautiful, is it not Supreme Commander?"

One part of him thought it reasonable that the most clandestine division of the Federation would be so, well, _sneaky. _Another part of him wondered how he did that, and if he could learn how to do it as well. The other part cursed himself for being so distracted with the colors of Sanghellios that he didn't notice the Field Marshall's footsteps, while another part, so deep he refused to acknowledge it, admitted to himself he was surprised for the fraction of a second it took for his brain to realize who it was. None of this showed on his face, off course, and he smoothly turned around to face the director and bowed to him.

"Field Marshall Ghech Hellamee, it is an honor to meet your acquaintance." he rightened himself from his bow and had a good look at the sanghelli.

As befitting a Field Marshall, the sanghelli wore a practical, but still decorative, variant of the armor used in the early days of the Great War. Colored a dark purple with the white stripes of the Federation all over his armor and it's crest, a circle divided into 6 equal pieces, marked on his chest. The shoulder spikes and oversized helm were reduced as they proved to mark them easily in the battlefield, as the humans had shown them. Besides the armor, Hellamee seemed to be a perfectly average Sanghelli in terms of physical appearance, causing the larger Vestamee to tower over him slightly. The only unusual trait to the Field Marshall was his bright yellow eyes, and the obvious intelligence that lurked within.

The director inclined his head in return. "Indeed. I have heard that you wished to talk to me, Supreme Commander. While I do not know what this is about, I would like for you to make it quick. I have other matters to attend to, and while I do not wish to insult you, I would like to return to them as quickly as possible."

The Supreme Commander nodded in turn, as expected. "Very well director, I will try to make this as brief as possible. I have four questions in mind to ask you, and while I do not expect all of them to be answered, I would like for you to tell me when you would be unable to answer without deceiving me, if that is possible director."

Hellamee seemed to smile slightly and nodded. "If you wish commander, you may ask what you will of me."

Vestemee dared to go further "Do you swear upon your honor?"

Most dealings between sanghelli were done with the unspoken agreement that what they spoke was true and always true, to the best of their understanding. When the sanghelli had joined the Covenant, they did so with the belief that the Great Journey was true. When the sanghelli had broken from the Covenant, they did so because of the outrage that the San 'Shyuum had lied. There were many tales of Sanghelli Special Operatives and Honor Guards, those who carried out the will of the Hierarchs and protected their lives, who had killed themselves from the shame of protecting these liars. Asking Hellamee to swear upon his honor, thus questioning him integrity as a Child of Sanghellios, was equivalent to questioning whether he had any honor, and Vestemee was prepared for the Field Marshall's rage to be apparent.

To his credit, the Field Marshall merely flexed his jaws at him, and nodded brusquely. "Very well Supreme Commander. If you wish it to be so, then I will do so. I swear upon my honor as a Child of Sanghellios, that what I will say to you is as true as I know it...must I spill my blood to make my intent clear?"

The Supreme Commander winced at the barb. While all blood oaths were serious matters, it held even more importance to those who held the rank of Field Marshall. It was considered of equal importance to the Oath of Lineage and, in his experience, was often given more weight. "No, no...I do not require it. I thank you for making the oath nonetheless."

"Yes you should. Now, what will you ask of me?" the Field Marshall still seemed annoyed at him, he showed no inclination to not answer his questions, for which he was grateful.

Vestemee began to highlight his points as frankly as possible. One, whether or not the Information Analysis Department knew anything about the attack on New Babel _before _it happened. Two, if the actual destruction of New Babel and the attempted assassination of one of the Federation's Supreme Commanders were choreographed beforehand by the IAD. Three, whether the IAD knows that ONI did either of the acts mentioned beforehand, and finally, what the hell Operation BERMUDA was.

As much as Vestemee had tried to drill the information out of Coleman, who had already seemed _very _guilty about telling the insistent sanghelli anything, his oldest living friend had refused to tell him anything about what ONI was planning, other than the fact that the IAD may be part of it. He wouldn't say anything else then, merely deflecting the topic until his crew had informed him that an Unggoy splinter group from the _Fleet of Loyalty Unquestioned _were beginning to threaten UNSC reinforcements, and his presence was needed before the Second Great War would erupt again.

Afterwards, when things had settled down and more reinforcements had arrived, Coleman and him were required to return to their respective superiors to explain in person what had happened. There were no further opportunities to ask him about what ONI was planning, and the only thing he heard from Coleman was that he had sent a private message to him, telling him it went by the designation Operation BERMUDA.

So, after rigorous interrogation from every department in the Federation, he had sent a request to meet Field Marshall Hellamee in person. Hellamee accepting his request so quickly was a pleasant surprise to Vestemee, and he had no intention on wasting the effort. As such, he decided to, as the humans called it, put his cards on the table.

Hellamee for his part showed no obvious signs of outrage, disbelief or any inclination to physically assault him. The best he could read from the yellow eyed sanghelli was a mild irritation, and a deep sense of resignation. Both of which would disappear as the sanghelli let out a brief sigh and looked at him good heartedly.

"I can understand your sense of frustration for failing to protect New Babel, I had frequently been in that position as well, when I was still active in the field. You are an excellent warrior, and some of the battles you fought during the Great Division were the harshest yet, and I respect you for your dedication to Sanghellios and the Federation. So for those reasons, and only those reasons, I will answer your questions in the manner you have asked."

Hellamee approached the holographic display, standing to Vestemee's side as he looked upon Sanghellios. "My answer to the first point is no, we did not have _concrete _proof that the insurgents were plotting to assault New Babel. We had collected scattered reports that the rebels were planning on something, but none of it would have directly translated to a concentrated assault on New Babel."

The Field Marshall began walking away from Vestemee, walking around the hologram. "To the second point, no as well. We had no desire to destroy either you, or New Babel. There would be no sense in either, as New Babel is one of the few shared colonies we have with the UNSC, though the others are kept secret, while you are one of our most celebrated warriors. The destruction of both would not have been in the Federation's best interest, as both of you would not be easily replaceable."

Vestemee had heard about the rumored strangeness of the IAD's director, but he would never have thought it to be true. Hellamee did not sound like a sanghelli at this moment, he did not speak of pride or glory, he spoke or worth, or gain or replaceability. He, as a Supreme Commander, had listened to the private recordings of meetings with the San 'Shyuum, the Great Deceivers, and Hellamee sounded just like them.

Which, he supposed, was befitting to the one who would control the Information Analysis Department.

"To the third point, I cannot say. While I and Director of ONI do communicate from time to time, I have not heard if the Office of Naval Intelligence knew the assault would occur, or whether they would have plotted New Babel's destruction, or your death Supreme Commander. Though I will investigate it personally, if that would allay your concerns. As for your fourth point..."

Vestemee began feeling strangely apprehensive then. The hologram of the planet was not large enough to block his view of the Field Marshall, but more than big enough to give the sanghelli enough room to pull out a hold out plasma pistol. He had surrendered his weapons to the guard outside and was utterly defenseless. His shield generators were offline, as an activated shield generator in a meeting was a very vocal sign of distrust. Not only that, but he was in Hellamee's flagship, where everyone would be loyal to _him_, regardless of their apprehension in killing a Supreme Commander. He knew that, in a battle onboard Hellamee's on flagship, that he would lose.

His concern was for naught though, as the Field Marshall completed his walk with no weapon in hand, and he berated himself for his momentary moment of suspicion towards the sanghelli. His moment of shame was quickly forgotten with Hellamee's next words.

"...yes, I do know what Operation BERMUDA is. But it is not my secret to keep and is something which you, Supreme Commander, have no business in knowing. Now only that it is to defend the Federation and, to the same degree, the USNC. That is all."

Vestemee frowned then, and locked eyes with the Field Marshall. Hellamee held two positions within the Federation, military and government. Hellamee was a Field Marshall of the Federation's Armies, translating to a Supreme Commander of the Federation Navies, thus making them equals. However, Hellamee's own rank within the government as Director of the IAD would further complicate matters, technically making him Vestemee's superior. Nonetheless, questioning superiority with Hellamee was irrelevant. It was to defend the Federation. To defend the Federation against something that threatened the UNSC as well. That was all the reason he needed.

"Understood Field Marshall. Nonetheless, I would like to request my admittance into Operation BERMUDA."

Vestemee had the distinct pleasure of seeing Hellamee's face develop into one of considerable shock, a rarely seen sight on the normally stoic sanghelli's face. He quickly brought himself under control however, and eyed him with a calculating glint in his eyes

"Really Supreme Commander? Now why would you be so interested in an Operation you should know nothing about, be so willing to jump into a situation you know nothing about, ally yourselves with people that don't exist, to achieve a goal as mysterious as all those combined together? And so soon after an attempt on your life that took the lives of thousands of federation personnel, some of whom had been with you since the end of the Pacification War? To risk your life in an unknown venture, when you could merely live your life as you wish. This is seems strange to me Commander, and would you be so kind as to enlighten me over your reason for doing so? What does this mean to you, exactly?"

Because it is my duty and responsibility as a Supreme Commander of the Federation Fleets to defend the lives of every species under it's banner. That, should anything threaten the security and continuing stability of the Federation, it should be dealt with. It was the vow he took when he assumed command of the _Fleet of Tactical Consideration. _It was the vow he took when he burnt the ships of the Covenant, and ordered the deaths of thousands, and he would not flinch in his duties.

Vestemee had prepared that speech, thinking of his duty and his vow and his line. He was prepared to say it to him, to Hellamee when he saw something within the Field Marshall's eyes. He forced his mandibles shut at that look, and forced himself to think it over even more carefully than he had before.

Why was he willing to do this? To defend the Federation is an acceptable and true answer, but one that has been uttered so many times before it has lost meaning. To defeat the enemies of the Federation. To protect it's citizens. To do what was necessary. All of that, uttered before. Uttered again and again until the words have lost their meaning.

He knew what Coleman would say if he had asked why he joined. It was not because of some unstoppable threat. Or an unknown enemy. Or the end of the UNSC and the Federation as they knew it, though that was certainly true. But there were others, others just as capable, if not more, capable in joining BERMUDA. No, not for any higher ideal to defend the UNSC. There were quite enough body bags indebted to that philosophy. Quite enough death he would have said. It was because, in the end, he did not join them to accomplish the goal whatever it may be, through whatever means necessary. He would say that he could not stand by and watch as the UNSC become no better than the Covenant they had destroyed. That he would speak out against the vileness of whatever they had planned, no matter how foolish that may be, so that at the very least, he would not regret doing so. To preserve the meaning of a moral code in the UNSC, and to a far greater extent, ONI. To make sure that all those who had died would not be for nothing.

Of course, Coleman would never say this out loud. But he had fought with him for a very long time, and he understood that Coleman, beneath his own exterior, was a very, very noble soul. For a human anyway.

That was not his reason for fighting, not really. But it was a beautiful reason. The Sanghelli understood the concept of Duty, Honor and Brotherhood. It was his duty to fight for the Federation, and it was a noble goal. It was also an honor to fight for a better future, a future that was safe against whatever BERMUDA defended against. And because he would make a poor blood brother if he did not fight beside Coleman.

Hellamee seemed to smile at that, and he nodded. "Very well Supreme Commander. You're interest in BERMUDA has been noted. Now," he said, as he waved at the door, "could you leave? I have many matters to attend to, and very little time to do so."

Vestemee bowed then, thanked the Field Marshall, and left. It would likely be hard. Perhaps nearly even soul crushing, but he would assist Coleman in whatever this BERMUDA was. Hellamee's eyes had, just for a moment, shown him what it would cost.

And in the Field Marshall's own haunted eyes, he had seen the price in joining, and he had accepted it.

Because, after all, what else could he do?

* * *

**2 Years, 4 Months and 14 Days before the Battle of Yavin**

**Imperial Intelligence: Sector Plexus: General Information File**

**Topic: Ghost Ship Phenomenon**

The Ghost Ships are the collective name that members of the populace label towards a group of ships, always at the edge of their vision, and always vaguely described as being indistinct with a subtle silver sheen, that have appeared over the past few months.

Official Imperial protocol is to deny that these ships even exist. The fact that none but Imperial Patrols have reported these ships do not seem to cease the rumors about these so called 'Ghost Ships' that fly along the edges of Imperial Space. These rumors are, as expected, based off the numerous biases of those involved. The more seedy elements of the population believe that they are merely _very _successful smugglers, divergent elements of the populace believe them to be rebels, the superstitious believe them to literally be ghosts of ships long dead, while writers believe them to be the harbinger of an alien race bent to take over the Empire.

Regardless of what these ships may or may not be, it is far from an isolated incident. Sightings of these ships have cropped up as far as the Wild Spaces, and as close to home as the Mid-Rim, with some whispering that they had been spotted at the Inner Rim, though that may only be hearsay.

The ships themselves would only appear one at a time, and the impression that there are multiple ships may or may not have come from the rumors of the populace. Nonetheless, while only one ship has ever truly been confirmed, the size and shape of these ships always eludes any specific questioning. These ships do not seem to initiate hostile contact with Imperial Forces, merely watching from a distance as long as they can, before disappearing from scanners several seconds later. Civilian ships may or may not have been abducted by these Ships, as they would have surely erased the memory of those they had abducted, and those who claim to be abducted are likely claiming they had done so to garner public attention.

Attempts at contacting these ships have proven to be fruitless, for as soon as our own ships would attempt to track them down, they would disappear. It has been theorized that these ships may have access to cloaking technology, as these ships could be small enough that a miniature cloaking device could insure that they stay hidden for a short while. It has been theorized that our own systems simply begin to filter out the Silver Ships as useless background information, thus causing them to disappear from our scanners, as these ships are far enough that they can only be seen by long range scanners. This would effectively mean that, whoever owns these ships, may be extremely capable in the use of electronic warfare or in interfering with our scanners, though that is merely conjecture at this point.

Hostile action has not been attempted, officially or otherwise, against these ships. The ships themselves, if they do exist, have yet to actually do anything within these reports but watch. If they are the vanguard of an invasion force, they are being too obvious about it, but not obvious enough that it interferes with the average imperial citizen's way of life. Attempts at communicating, or otherwise engaging these ships have been officially stated by High Command to never happen. If these ships are hostile, then our defenses will be ready for them when they strike at our territory, not theirs. If these ships are not hostile, then we will not waste the resources necessary to field any major operation to do so. Considering the fact that the Emperor demands Imperial Intelligence to investigate certain persons of interest within the Empire and as such, we cannot afford to split our attention. The Emperor has stated that, for now, the Internal is our problem, not the External.

_Message from the Sedition Branch, to the persons it may concerned._

Several days ago, an Imperial I Star Destroyer by the name of the _'Valiant' _went rogue. It slipped of it's moors from Dantooine, assaulted any ship that approached it with their Ion Cannons, then warped into Hyperspace. The Navy are currently pursuing them at this very moment, but from the looks of it, it doesn't seem likely that they'd do so anytime soon. The ISB has investigated the Dantooine outpost and, apparently, this has been planned for weeks. Since the end of the ISB's investigation into the Ghost Ships actually. While they haven't been very obvious about it, it it still quite clear that the ISB plans on pinning this entire affair on Imperial Intelligence as a whole.

As Director Isard has quite clearly pointed out to us, he is not unwilling to blame this entire disgusting affair on us if he has to. Considering how...messy, current political affairs are, Director Isard has made it clear that the loss of a Star Destroyer is, regardless of how many the Navy currently has, is unacceptable. It represents a threat to the Empire, and a threat is not something the Emperor takes lightly. Nonetheless, he has said that it is likely unnecessary.

The Ubiqtorate has decided to use this incident to our advantage. We can pin responsibility for this entire affair on the ISB, which would be relatively simple. The _Valiant _was formerly operating under the ISB, and they were the ones who had investigated the ship when questions about their loyalty began to pop up. In any case, Imperial Intelligence was supposed to have investigated the _Valiant _in the first place, it is after all, our jurisdiction to do so. 'Unfortunately', the ISB were the ones who investigated it and, through some failure of their own, failed in their investigations.

Which is why the Ubiqtorate has ordered this message sent. All Sedition Branch officers are to root out and isolate ISB informants and feed them false information. We are to locate them, and then insure that whatever they feed their handlers is as far away from the truth as a wookie is from a sonic shower.

All Sedition Branch officers are also to do these actions within the week, and to apply memory alteration techniques upon themselves to insure that the ISB finds _nothing. _They are in the proverbial boiling water pot gentlemen, not us. If we play our cards right, the ISB will be even more discredited than they currently are. Similar messages with, presumably, similar contents are being sent to the rest of the branches, not just Sedition.

Besides this, standard operations are to continue as normal. That is all. Carry on.

* * *

**10 Months and 28 Days before the Battle of Yavin**

**Alliance Intelligence: Intentions Branch: Analysis Department**

**Subject: General Information Audio File**

Right. So...several matters here today. Um, right. six matters actually.

Number one. Birdwatchers and Imperial Intel are still anal about any 'Dissident Elements' within the government, and their purges are only occasionally getting us. Like last time, they only seem to take us down when we make ourselves obvious. Keep our heads down, send the info same as before and, again, don't do anything stupid, then you're golden. Anyway, they keep focusing on any other imperial group that even looks like that he might _think _like he's give Palpy a mean look. Well, when they're not tearing each other apart anyway and competing on how many suspected rebels and 'dissidents' can they arrest, interrogate and gain semi useful info in 10 minutes.

Number two. We've been making progress at hunting down those deactivated Separatist warships, though the imps are still hot on our heels about that. Now, from what our slicers told us, the security protocols onboard the ships' mainframes are outdated, so turning them on isn't a real problem. What is a problem is that the security system recognizes us as intruders. Predictable bantha crap happens. The slicers say that, if we took out the damned security bots first before they reactivated the ships, they could hack into the mainframe enough to give us control over the ship and it's droids. Also...um, yeah here it is. We currently have over 500 or so ships earmarked for slicing, with 70 ships online and waiting. Now, we _could _have gotten more, but a lot of guys beat us to it. We were lucky to find those ships at all.

Number three. The imp Navy is still way, _way _too big for us to hit with anything resembling a frontal assault, and too costly to engage with anything _but _our current guerilla tactics. Imp Intel and the Birdwatchers are still keeping specific info on the numbers a secret, so we _still _don't know how many ships they have. Judging from the fact that nearly every outpost they have are _ridiculously_ armed, in manners of logistics anyway, that the Sector Fleets haven't been mobilized _once,_ and the Grand Admirals were keeping silent on anything and everything, with their personal fleets never having even been _seen _yet, it's safe to say there's a _lot _of them, and leave it at that. Not that we don't know that already.

Number four. There's been some weird traffic on our end, mainly with some weird information networks being set up all over the place. Now, considering the fact that this has been happening on nearly every world we're all ready on, we're fairly sure it's an imperial trap. Thing is, the amount of effort they would have put into this would mean that both the ISB and Imperial Intelligence was working together for this one. Now, we're _really _not sure about that one, but we're willing to put some stock to it. We need confirmation on what to do now though.

Number five. You told us to keep track of the _Valiant _right? Yeah well, we lost them. Latest thing we got is that the ISB had set up an Interdictor Star Destroyer or three with maybe 8 Star Destroyers. They managed to get the _Valiant _in the field, and they _did _capture it but...well... _Apparently_, it seems that the crew, after being captured, proceeded to then free themselves, fight their way out of custody, disable the main interdictor trapping them, fire their Ion cannons at the other Interdictors, then run into hyperspace faster than their engines could carry them...You know, as a personal note, I have to say, these guys are _hardcore. _This is what, the eight time they 'supposedly' captured them? The eight time they _escaped?_ Those guys would be _awesome _rebels...*ahem* if any of this is true anyway. Considering that the ISB seems to have nothing better to do but ffed us ridiculous info and see if we bite, like that 'Bantha Potatoes' incident, I wouldn't be surprised they sprang this one on us...Anyway, while the 'circumstances' of the whole thing isn't very clear, the location is. _That_ was somewhere around the edge of _this _sector here, and the only obvious hyperspace lane from there leads them, you guessed it, right into the Unknown Regions. For all intents and purposes, they are _gone. _

Number six. The Ghost Ship thing? The ones that have been messing with the Imp's head for the past few years? and Ours? Yeah, they're gone now. We don't know how, and we don't know why, but they suddenly went 'poof!' a few months ago, and there hasn't been a recorded sighting of them ever since. They've never lasted this long without at least a single sighting, and we don't know what's causing it. Effects of them stopping are too long for us to get into in a general report, and the Analysis Department will be sending a more thorough list.

So yeah, that's about it. Specific information files that need to be sent are being sent and should arrive within the hour. Anything else you all need to know, all you have to do is ask.

* * *

**Analysis of the technological capacity of both the Galactic Empire and the UNSC-Federation Alliance during the First Intergalactic War. **

_Chapter 1: On the subject of technology level._

There are 8 tiers within the Forerunner technological achievement tier system, measuring the technological ability of any race through a small list of checklists, with the least advance being Tier 7, and the most advance being Tier 0. Great War era humanity were Tier 3, a species possessing faster than light travel (slispace), asynchronous linear-induction weapons (MAC guns), and semi sentient AI to name a few. The Covenant were Tier 2, with even more capable FTL travel, near instantaneous communications, and man portable application of energy manipulation. The Forerunners on the other hand, were a Tier 1 civilization. The most technologically superior race next to _their _forerunners.

The only known species to have ever reached Tier 0 were the Forerunners' predecessors, the Precursors. It is a theoretical limit, with those in this Tier possessing technology that, to most other species, would seem utterly impossible. The Forerunners themselves did not know the full abilities of the Precursors, only hypothesizing that Intergalactic Travel, and the acceleration of evolution would be some of the technology a Tier 0 civilization could possess.

By the time of the 27th century, both the UNSC and the Federation were transitioning between Tier 2 and Tier 1, with both factions having the capability to create huge super structures, manipulate gravitational forces, and perform super accurate slipspace navigations. The Federation was unwilling to invest in AI technologies, the old bias concerning the fall of the Forerunners still being present, and so the UNSC had the advantage in that regard. Still, some things, like the ability to create super dense materials and the ability to create life were still beyond their reach. Both factions had reached their present state because of the Forerunners, having pillaged the Forerunners' bases for reverse engineering.

The Galactic Empire, following the Achievement Tier, would be a Tier 1 civilization. Technically. The creation of super dense materials, like the Quantum-Crystalline armor, would show that the Empire had a firmer grasp in those technologies than either the UNSC or Federation, though the armor itself was created in limited supply. They certainly had the capability to create immense superstructures, though not nearly to the same extent that the Forerunners had. They were capable of precise FTL travel, though they were still limited by their own innate failures, being unable to compensate for gravitational forces for example.

On the other hand, they were not on the same level as the Forerunners. Their manipulations of gravitational forces were not on the same level as theirs had been. Centerpoint station was a fine example of Forerunner level technology, perhaps even beyond it, but the Empire's inability to discover it's secrets bars that from them. They were unwilling to create AIs with full sentience, though they had the capability to do so. They feared the possibility of their servants eventually turning on them, and research into AI were limited. Finally, while the Empire has created some perverse form of life for their own benefit, the Forerunners created at least one species that would last for tens of thousands of years. The Huragoks.

* * *

**CEDF Classified Information File **

**General Assessment Report (circa 18 years after the end of the most recent large scale conflict)**

1. The Galactic Empire seems to be continuing their rapid build up of arms, and there has been no sign of that stopping anytime soon. Since the confirmed start of ship and weapons manufacturing one and a half years ago, all recorded instances of rebellion within the Empire has ceased. Our own spies believe that, rather than them being wiped out completely, the 'Rebel Alliance' seems to have gone even deeper underground, and are merely waiting for an opportunity. The number of spies within Imperial space has also been slowly declining, except those required for a counter-attack should the Empire bear their newly created arms towards us. Defensive and counter-offensive plans have been further updated in response to all data available to us, and will be sent as a supplementary to this file.

2. Influence from the Household Phalanx, and the renegade Mitth'raw'nuruodo are also evident. The rate of CEDF defections remain constant, and their own established territory continue to expand. Conflicts between the Household Phalanx and the CEDF have yet to occur. However, considering Mitth'raw'nuruodo's own tactical skill, it must be assumed that the most minor of border skirmishes be considered an act of war. On the other hand, considering his own devotion to the Ascendancy, despite his own radical tactics, will likely mean that he will not willingly wage extended conflict against the Ascendancy or the CEDF without due cause. As such, their current status remains purely observational, with additional espionage operations whenever required.

3. The Ssi Ruuvi Imperium have been expanding their territory recently, moving into nearby star systems and subjugating them into their 'Imperium'. As of yet, their overall strategy is unknown, but they seem to avoid any major conflict with the Ascendancy, though the fact they seem to be massing their forces at the edges of their territory likely means that they do not plan on ceasing their their expansion anytime soon. They have yet to move into, or assault any ship in Ascendancy space, though there have been reports of missing ships, we are not aware if the Ssi Ruu are responsible or not. Further investigation is required.

4. The Killiks continue to exist in a state of chaos, and have yet to gain a significant form of leadership or expand their overall territory to any significant degree. Forays into Killik space to supplement labor forces continue as planned. Standard pacification of their hives continue as planned.

5. An unknown gravitational anomaly discovered deep within sector _[Classified]. _Gravitational anomaly is _not _naturally occurring, and seems to originate from a previously uninhabited system. Anomaly seems to thwart hyperspace travel, causing all ships traveling within that region to revert to a point in space within the system. Escaping from that anomaly, once there, would only be possible through location and destruction of whatever is causing this. The most likely explanation to this is that it is a trap, and a very well crafted one as well. If a fleeing raider ship we had pursued had not stumbled upon that location, we would never have found it. Considering that the anomaly has not ceased, it is safe to consider that the ship has been destroyed. Warping in from the farthest area of the anomaly, and moving in through use of subspace engines, would likely take several months. Also, considering the recent actions of the Household Phalanx, this does not seem to be an experiment of theirs or their patrons. The CEDF requests further orders from the Ascendancy as to what to do with the Anomaly.

6. The Mnggal-Mnggal continues to be a considerable threat, though further expansion by it's taint has been contained for now. The Lugubraa and the Croke continue to assist us in our attempts at exterminating them, though they themselves have only gone so far as defending their systems than wiping out the threat. Currently, there has been no significant movements by the Mnggal-Mnggal, though the limited numbers of ships that have come to challenge our defenses hint that it may be preparing for an assault. It should also be noted that forces from the Household Phalanx has been seen scouting the edges of Mnggal-Mnggal controlled space.

7. The Vaagari are still hidden within their own systems, and have yet to attack Ascendancy space. It is of note however, that they have likely been arming themselves for a considerable amount of time. Household Phalanx, as with the Mnggal-Mnggal, have also been seen scouting their territory. It is likely, from Mitth'raw'nuruodo's previous actions against them, that he wishes to also lead his forces against the Vaagari.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Hmm, my attempt at fleshing out the vast amounts of characters I've made has begun. I never had the opportunity to _really_ do so, with so many events happening, so it's more than a little late. These little sections will appear once in a while, probably when things are slowing down so as not to interfere with the actions.

Additionally, there's not a lot of info for me to explain in the fic, as nearly anything I can think of has already been thought off in the SW realms. As such, and I really am sorry about this, I have been throwing out everything I've learned from my walk into the SW wilderness. The Mnggal-Mnggal for example, is something I didn't even knew _existed _in the unknown regions, let alone a constant threat to everyone there. Let me also make it clear that I'm having a lot on my mind, having to deal with how to properly mesh all this together, and as such, you'll have to search the wiki on what the hell a Mnggal-Mnggal is, or simply wait until a suitable time for me to go into exposition mode on them. Not that it'll happen anytime soon. I clearly see this story reaching a lifetime of several years, so the Mnggal-Mnggal probably won't see much action on this story arc. Or I'm simply distracting you from other possible lines of thought, and used the creepy black sludge to be there as mind candy. Meh, who knows? I'm tired and half asleep, goodnight all of you. Don't let the complimentary cricket...creak? in your ears too long.


	14. Preparations: Part 2: An Army of Dolls

**Disclaimer: **Both Halo and Star Wars franchises do not belong to me. The Halo series belongs to Bungie, or 343 Industries which Bungie created to take care of the Halo franchise. Star Wars belongs to Lucasarts in turn. Any other Franchise I will add to this story will also not be made by me, and I will acknowledge them in turn.

******Quemadmoeum gladis nemeinum occidit, occidentis telum est** - _A sword is never a killer, it's a tool in the killer's hands._

* * *

**2 Years, 2 Month and 2 Days before the Battle of Yavin**

**Imperial Center**

**Voice Recording belonging to RG-F2-0035**

The Emperor had, ever since the Royal Guards were established, been rotating several batches of the Guard to Stormtrooper Battalions. The possible reasons for the Emperor deciding on that course of action, besides the obvious fact that it would keep their skills sharp, was the rumor that the Royal Guards of the Old Republic had been defeated by Grand Master Yoda with a mere flick of his hand, while the Stormtroopers had butchered other Jedi Masters without nearly as much trouble. Of course, this was all realistically due to circumstances, it was all so easy to burn holes in the back of tired and unaware Jedi Masters, not so when said Masters were alert and fresh, but it didn't stop the Stormtroopers from reminding the Guard about it. "Oh look! We killed hundreds of Jedi while you couldn't handle a green lizard with a walking stick!" Damn Barves.

There was this one time that she was assigned to work with the 495th Stormtrooper Battalion on an assignment out on Kashyyyk to hunt down insurgents that had fled to the darker levels of the forest planet. The main reason for her being sent to that Death World of rebellious wookies and poisonous flora was that, since Imperial Center required a focus on urban combat, that jungle combat would be a nice change of pace and that hunting down wookies in the underdark of _Kashyyyk _was somehow easier than protecting the Emperor of the Galactic Empire. That her long stint on the planet had eroded her jungle combat skills, and that they wished to test that hypothesis by throwing frakking _Kashyyyk _at her.

She could tell you now, wrestling a kinrath to the ground and pumping it full of hot plasma before it's talons could rip your guts out wasn't any more fun than standing in a steel corridor for several hours while forcibly keeping her mind sharp for assassination attempts (real or imagined), and neither was it fun when she had to repeat the process every time the sithspawn got within a few meters of her. Not that she _let _them of course, but when the wookies somehow managed to direct the kinraths at her squad, while also alerting every semi-sentient and sentient creature within several hundred yards, and the damned things were falling by the dozens and _still _not slowing down, she didn't have much choice in the matter.

Nor could she really say there was any practical difference in the guts of an Kinrath Matriarch and the guts of a Slash Spider, besides the fact that it was one of the most disgusting sights she had ever seen in her entire life, even including the incident with the bantha back on Dantooine. Nor could she say that hunting down and killing roughly 30 or so wookies (more or less, since she didn't think they found all the bodies) in their home territory was anything resembling the concept of fun. So she had come to the conclusion that, besides the practical application of sending out his Royal Guards to keep them sharp, the Emperor was really having a laugh about the entire situation. She wasn't unaware that her helmet had a video camera that recorded the entire operation, and she was also not unaware that the Emperor would peruse those files from time to time. She also realized that she had indadvertedly solved the mystery as to why the Emperor chuckled randomly while going through said files.

In any case, while she couldn't say much for the disgusting bantha poodoo (sometimes literally) that the average stormtrooper had to put up with, she couldn't doubt their skill, or their loyalty to the Emperor. The white armor they wore served to dehumanize them in the eyes of their opponents, and the training they went through had taught them that their lives were expendable, that they existed to carry out the Emperor's Will, and accepted it completely and utterly, much like the training she had endured to become a Royal Guard. Despite the sometimes tension that occurred between the Royal Guards and the Stormtrooper Legions, they both believed in the ideology that they were _nothing_ without the Emperor. She herself, despite her borderline heretical views of the Emperor, would still gladly sacrifice her life for him should he ask her too. Would still do whatever he required, which is why, it could be said, the rest of her fellows let her otherwise unacceptable behavior alone. As such, though she might not _like _them per se, she could respect most of the stormtroopers she had met.

Which made her opinions on the Fett Clones...complicated.

A third. The Stormtrooper Legions currently consisted of volunteers, conscripts, or clones. The clones based on the Fett Genotype made up a third of all the legions, with a large majority being veterans of the Clone Wars. Very, very few people knew the exact number of Stormtroopers active throughout the galaxy, she was not one of them, but she could guess that there were at least dozens of billions necessary to exert his will over the entire galaxy, and she was fairly sure she was underestimating their numbers.

Still, from what she had seen of them, the Fett Clones were...well, there was a reason that the vast majority of Vader's 501st were mainly composed of them. Far more efficient, deadly, and loyal than either the conscripts or the lesser clones, she could see why they had triumphed against the cold gray steel of the Separatists during the Clone War. They were just that damned _good. _

She had served with them once, in the darkness of Felucia, when the natives went out of control and High Command sent in the 98th Stormtrooper Legion. She fought beside them in the jungle, killing off the natives consumed with blood lust and mind blowing rage through precision shots to the head and torso. Burnt down miles of forests by calling down orbital bombardments and slaughtering millions. Brought down even the mighty rancors through brutally effective tactics like flooding an entire area with chemical weaponry and burning any caves that they might live in. She had left eventually, a little after the entire team stationed on the Sarlacc got taken down (frakking amateurs, even _with _those damned metal robots...). Though she didn't know how that affair ended, or what ended it, she could tell that the residents of Felucia would never be a problem ever again.

What confused her were their...strange dualities. She had once seen a clone jump into the maw of a rancor with a thermal detonator to save his entire squad, and had then seen said surviving squad wipe out an entire village full of felucians. They were brave, but they instilled fear in the hearts of every being that fought them. They would fight alongside an ally and sacrifice their lives for each other if need be, but if commanded to eliminate one of their own, would do so with neither regret or hesitation. A totally loyal, entirely competent, and utterly terrifying force. They wouldn't _mind _saving you from the jaws of a rancor, but neither would they _mind _blowing your hands of and _then _feeding you to the rancor, not that it would be personal or anything, they were just following orders.

Which, she supposed, was what the Emperor had in mind when he had designed them.

* * *

**March 8, 2596**

**111 Tauri System - Victoria**

**Location Unknown**

Mission Time: Unknown

Status Report: UNSC Combat Operations AI _This is Our Land _activated. Current location last archived as the planet Victoria. Reason for presence unknown. General query for orders, identity of any nearby organics, and command codes dispatched. In the event that no organic beings reply, this unit is to proceed in self destruct procedures for itself, and the 700 Sentinel-class combat drones _Foliage: Heavy Combat/Stealth variation_ attached to it. In the event that organic beings are nearby, but both orders and/or identity codes are against this unit's programming, and that identity of said organic beings are unauthorized to take command of this unit, then a Class ONE extermination procedure is put into effect until a proper commanding officer is found. Countdown activated for one minute.

Mission Time: Unknown

Status Report: Countdown invalidated by commanding officer Colonel Nicolai Dubov of the Twelfth ODST Special Operations Battalion through radio command. Colonel Dubov has began transmitting mission details to this unit for further operations. Analysis of data pending. Files unzipping.

Mission Time: -00hrs 40mins 00sec

Status Report: Mission information analyzed. This unit has been dispatched to assist the Twelfth ODST Spec Ops Battalion in the assisting with Operation BUSHWHACK, which is the elimination of the Insurrectionist compound approximately 8 miles away. This unit's primary control center, as well as it's attached combat drones, have been dropped into the surrounding forest in advance of Twelfth Battalion to perform directed operations. Operation will begin in 40 minutes, upon which Twelfth Batallion will drop in to highlighted areas of interest as pinpointed by this unit.

Mission Time: -00hrs 39mins 20sec

Status Report: All unit locations have been confirmed. 10 pods have been dropped in, with varying numbers of drones for each. Current drones nearby this unit are 600, with 10 drones per pod for every other pod. All units activated, with energy shielding and weaponry online. Appropriate tactical responses are being investigated.

Mission Time: -00hrs 39mins 10sec

Status Report: Mission data illustrate that the Insurrectionist Camp is staffed with numerous organics with ballistics weaponry, likely from the first Human-Xeno conflict, and will pose a minimum to moderate threat against the sentinels. AA Guns noticeable, but not within mission parameters. Stationary weapon emplacements are also evident, with large fields of overlapping fire making it highly improbable to successfully infiltrate the compound. Additional armor consists largely of APCs, with no heavy armor available. Insurrectionist patrols, from previous information operations, are likely 3 to 4 miles away from the camp, with an additional 1.5 miles as a buffer zone. All but 20 drones have began closing the distance, with said drones having been dispatched to protect this unit.

Mission Time: -00hrs 29mins 10sec

Status Report: Advanced Sentinel groups converge on the 4 mile mark. Velocity of 10 meters a second was achieved without alerting perimeter guards. Velocity of each group diminished, as well as the illumination bulbs of each sentinel. Advanced Group One has reported the presence of a team of Insurrectionists. Team consists of roughly 4 males and 3 females engaging in reproductive activities. Communications have been jammed, and combat operations will begin upon this unit's command. The remainder of the Advanced Sentinel Group continue moving.

Mission Time: -00hrs 29mins 05sec

Status Report: Leaving group alive would mean that a potentially mission threatening factor is left intact, and that it would interfere with the operation's success should they be left alive. Additionally, should they cease their activities and return to their camp, they would meet the main unit group, and that could not be allowed. Authorization for release of suppressed 5x23mm M443 Caseless Full Metal Jacket Machine Gun. 15 rounds per body, minimum.

Mission Time: -00hrs 28mins 45sec

Status Report: Advanced Group One reports success, with no significant resistance in termination order. Units had aimed at the upper body, defined as anything above the heart, and head. Units expended 105 rounds. Advanced Group One reports no significant resistance. All 10 drones are ready and able. The Nine other Advanced Groups report no resistance, and proceeds deeper into the area.

Mission Time: -00hrs 21mins 14sec

Status Report: AG3 reports Insurrectionist combat group consisting of 15 men and women moving through the foliage. General distance from, and general movement towards, the group encountered by AG1 makes it plausible that they had been sent to check on the previous group. Like the previous group, their survival cannot be allowed, and the chances of them escaping or succeeding in their task. AG1, AG2 and AG4 have been dispatched to assist in their destruction. Bulk of this unit's forces are being ordered to follow the path of AG6.

Mission Time: -00hrs 19mins 10sec

Status Report: AG3 reports that combat operations will begin in 10 seconds, and is awaiting operational orders. AG1, AG2 and AG4 are in position. Communications have been jammed, though they are unlikely to notice within the next 5 seconds. AG6 reports that, at current rate of velocity, they will reach the outskirts of the camp's defensive line within 10 to 15 minutes.

Mission Time: -00hrs 19mins 07sec

Status Report: AG1, AG2 and AG4 are now authorized for termination procedures. Fire free. Continue as required until termination procedure has been carried out. Remainder of the units are to continue moving forward.

Mission Time: -00hrs 18 mins 30sec

Status Report: All organics have been eliminated, with 2 drones heavily damaged due to concentrated fire overwhelming their shields, and one destroyed due to a grenade having destroyed it's necessary equipment. Noise from engagement likely to have alerted outer perimeter guard, and AG1-AG4 are instructed to set up an ambush. AG2 is instructed to listen to Insurrectionist communications through their radios and alert this unit in any significant combat operations. The rest of this unit's forces are continuing as planned

Mission Time: -00hrs 12mins 23sec

Status Report: AG2 reports that a group of roughly 3 APCs and several dozen rebels are being dispatched to last known location of previous patrol group. Additional scouts are being sent to spread out through the foliage, while those nearest to them are being sent to assist the larger rebel group. Visual confirmation has been established on the base and, should armed conflict begin, the drones can reach the base in the next 3 minutes. Update is being sent to the Twelfth Battalion and this unit advises them that they will be coming in hostile territory.

Mission Time: -00hrs 10mins 10sec

Status Report: Due to the mobilization of the rebel forces, a gap has been formed between the larger rebel group, and the cordon of search parties. It is likely that, should full mobilization occur, that this unit's forces can move unopposed until they reach the camp's stationary defenses. Visual confirmation has established where the least defended areas of the camp are, and this information has been sent to Colonel Dubov.

Mission Time: -00hrs 6mins 4sec

Status Report: Forces are now idle along the gap between the rebel forces. Colonel Dubov has transmitted further orders. The colonel orders that this unit's forces proceed with attacking the base 15 seconds before the assault is to occur. This unit is also to destroy all forces within the jungle at it's own discretion. Sentinel forces now awaiting orders.

Mission Time: -00hrs 1mins 15sec

Status Report: AG6 to AG10 are now to move nearby scouting infantry for termination procedures. Bulk of sentinel forces are to proceed towards Camp New Hope, and will reach the edge of their effective defensive perimeters in one minute. AG1 to AG4 are to destroy mobile armor group proceeding within the foliage, with AG5 to assist. Authorization to use Improvised Conventional Munitions, as well as switch from Full Metal Jacket to 9.5x40mm M634 High Powered Semi-Armor Piercing munitions.

Mission Time: -00hrs 00mins 20sec

Status Report: Clarification of objective hierarchy. 1: Detainment of high ranking Insurrectionist leaders. 2: Preservation of members of the Twelfth Battalion. 3: Containment and termination of all Insurrectionist personnel. 4: Preservation of this unit. 5: Preservation of individual unit.

Mission Time: -00hrs 00mins 18sec

Status Report: Clarification on tactical operations. AG6 to AG10 are to terminate Insurrectionist forces as quickly and as cleanly as possible. Mission parameters state that survivors are **not **required, and as such, the need for clemency is absent. Identification of bodies is not required. AG1 to AG5 are to focus on the elimination of armored vehicles and their mounted weaponry, as those can prove to be the most hazardous to individual drone operations. Use of ICMs suggested, specifically under or inside the vehicles to incapacitate the vehicle, or eliminate any organic inside as well as controls for the vehicle. Once accomplished, termination of individual organics on the inclination of each drone, though a preference for quickness is appreciated. Units 101 to Units 700 are to use all heavy munitions in an attempt to destroy as many weapon emplacements and to instill disorder in the enemy until Twelfth Battalion arrives. All units be advised that the organics are likely pumped with adrenaline by this point, and combat reflexes are likely above average. Despite this, use of psychological warfare is advised, and would likely be effective.

Mission Time: -00hrs 0mins 15sec

Status Report: Combat operations to begin now. All units are authorized to use whatever armaments are available to achieve the objectives. AG6 to AG10, Begin. Ag1 to AG4. Begin. Units 101 to Units 700. Begin.

Mission Time: 00hrs 00mins 00sec

Status Report: Operation BUSHWHACK begins. Elements of the Twelfth Battalion have begun their orbital drop towards Camp New Hope. All units with available line of sight have been instructed to fire their kinetic weaponry at the outer defenses, and to eliminate any opponent in the open. All units without available line of sight have been instructed to deploy Improvised Conventional Munitions to maim as many Insurrectionists as possible before Twelfth Battalion arrives.

Mission Time: 00hrs 00mins 5sec

Status Report: AG6 to AG10 have engaged the mobile armored force and have besieged the force. Initial attack was deemed successful, with the loss of 43% of rebel personnel, with an average decline of 3% every 7 seconds. APCs are insufficient cover to protect them. Termination inevitable.

Mission Time: 00hrs 00mins 25sec

Status Report: Units continue to be rendered inoperable due to constant frontal attacks. Estimated loss of 60 units with continued tactics until reinforcements arrive. Considered irrelevant due to command hiearchy. Continued attacks would mean that the rebels would be unprepared for orbital drop assault, and would likely break ranks and flee. Loss of any individual unit is acceptable to the survival of the mission and continued preservation of Twelfth Battalion, no other considerations are possible.

Mission Time: 00hrs 00mins 47sec

Status Report: Twelfth Battalion has arrived. 70 SOEIVs Mrk II have successfully landed, and their occupants are safely on the ground. 20 MOEIVs have also landed, with the squads inside safely on the ground. Additionally, 7 Scorpion Tanks with significant modifications have also been dropped at the outskirts and internal architecture of the base, and have begun firing their weaponry. Camp is in chaos, with no coherent radio transmissions to hint of any commander leading them. Cease rampant use of ICDs. Cease uncontrolled elimination of organic beings. Target dossiers are being updated. All units move forward and commence operation as stated within the dossiers.

* * *

**March 8, 2596**

**111 Tauri System - In orbit around Victoria**

**Obelisk-class Destroyer _Delightful Doomsday_**

"That went really well, don't you think?"

Colonel Nicolai Dubov grunted and looked at the screen. "487 rebels armed with old weapons from war long ago. 40 Warthogs, with half armed with stolen linear accelerator technology, and ither half armed with standard kinetic weaponry. 60 automated anti-personnel turrets around base, with 10 of those suited to anti-armor. End result. 424 dead. 3 top brass rebels captured. All armored support destroyed. All turrets destroyed. Of 200 men that dropped, we lost only 8. 3 due to AA fire, and 5 because they were stupid, and dropped right in the middle of enemy troops. Of 10 Scorpion tanks that dropped, none were destroyed. Yes, Operation went better than expected."

She frowned and looked to the screen again. "These numbers seem somewhat...unreal though? I mean, all of this and we only lost 8 men?"

Dubov grunted again and looked down on his datapad. "Just because you cannot do it, mean _we _cannot do it."

Candid Extirpation had decided he liked the human, though he couldn't say why to the normally neat definitions he was used to. Perhaps it was because of the colonel's own stereotypic russian accent that was reminiscent of the old Soviet Republics. Perhaps it was because of their shared interest in the realms of warfare, and their own dislike of petty things like 'Geneva Conventions' that suck the creativity out of their fun. Perhaps because, unlike Genuine who would wheel around the issue, or Altruistic who tried to be polite about it, or Disconsolate who...scratch that, she's fine, or Insular who just didn't _care, _the colonel was _honest. _He didn't wheel or deal his way into getting something, he went and _said it. _"I need ships for operation." he would say in that admirably authentic fake accent. Or "Permission for experimental chemical weaponry to be used on Insurrectionists." Or "Permission to rescue school full of children." (Not that he'd ever said that, but the man was a softie, deep within that body of "Yes sir, would you like napalm on top of your beheaded insurgents sir" act.)

Nonetheless, besides honesty, the man was well versed in the styles of land combat, an art completely eclipsed these days by naval combat. So very well versed in fact, that the man was in for a promotion for this very assignment, not that he knew that of course. Candid did like surprises, and his preference for them was very well known. Brigadier General Nicolai Dubov he'd be called, leading an army of suitably soviet forces with matching accents to victory in the name of the motherworld! Oh the amusement politically incorrect humor could bring. Another reason why ONI didn't want him anywhere near anything remotely public, the public relations fallout whenever he'd open his mouth would set the Operation back by years, if not decades.

Rear Admiral Alexia Numal had the most curious facial expression on before she looked at her datapad. "Well, ignoring the possibility of whether or not your men could have performed such feats by themselves, I think we can say that the drones helped Twelfth Battalion with their victory, right?" she said as she looked at the colonel with a...stern expression, it could be said. Like the navy officer was challenging her army counterpart.

After glaring back at her for a few moments, the colonel nodded. "Yes. Drones did good with distraction, rebels too overwhelmed by the machines to counter my troopers effectively. Allowed pods to come in with few resistance. They are useful."

Numal looked down at her datapad and checked off several lists in said datapad. "Okay, but I still think that we have to change the drones' command hierarchy. While saving organic lives _is _important, especially considering we can't replace our troopers, we also have to make sure the Commanders don't go and sacrifice their forces when they don't have to. The operation saw the destruction of 80 or so drones, with roughly three-fourths of that being unnecessary when the combat logs were reviewed."

Dubov looked at the holographic display, which currently showed all six hundred and twenty three surviving sentinel drones perform acrobatic maneuvers similar to what tuna would do back on earth, except they were doing it in space. Apparently, _This is Our Land _had grown...bored, and was experimenting with his drones. Which brought to mind the UNSC Army's...strange situation with them.

Basically...well, the Army _loved _them, but only to a certain extent. Namely, that extent being as 'supportive forces in hostile situations.' However, considering that the drones literally outnumbered the Army by the hundreds, that basically ousted the Army as the main fighting force of the UNSC. Not that the Generals of the Army liked the idea of the armies they previously commanded being sidelined by mechanical...things. So, they _adapted. _That, however, would be for another time.

Suffice to say, the colonel didn't particularly liked the drones, but loved their supplementary position. That it would not be in the Army's best interest should they have more initiative and survival programming instead of happily going into the front lines to get themselves killed and pave the way for the human element to arrive. As such, it wasn't much of a surprise for either Candid or Numal when, with as much russian dignity as he could, said "Nyet, drones are fine as they are."

The Rear Admiral nodded at that and, without glancing up from her said "Well, what does Candid think of this then?"

The AI took his sweet time appearing before them, deciding on a random visual representation to show to both of them (coincidentally, it was an image of an alaskan...dog...mush..thing.) "Hmm, oh yes. Readjust their command hierarchy...thing." Candid said, as the dog that was what he currently was right now began moving it's mouth in sync with him. "After all, as the Rear Admiral has said...yes, whatever she said, she has a point. Admiral Statscowski has already reviewed the files, and agreed with the Rear Admiral's suggestion." With that, the siberian husky (THERE it is!) disappeared from view and left the two humans alone, literally speaking anyway.

She looked at the colonel again, with a strangely triumphant expression, and returned to her datapad. The colonel merely made the most successful combination of the 'I do not care, do what you wish.' expression, the 'I hate you and your entire being' expression. and the 'You fool, what spine do you have?' expression (which was possibly for the AI himself or Statscowski, he wasn't quite sure). Candid drank it in, and he felt that it would be nearly as fun as if he'd been given full control of the operation. He still remembered when Genuine had told him of how BUSHWHACK was supposed to go down.

No orbital bombardments, they needed information from the place. Nothing that breaks the Geneva Convention. Assist Admiral Statscowski in the operation, since he was the only one who knew what he was. Insure that the operation go off without a hitch. Take command of spatial operations, but only at Statscowski's say so. If Statscowski went rogue, override control of the sentinels and apprehend him. And, above all, make sure that the data for the sentinel operation is recorded properly so we'll know how the Commander did.

The thing was, the Envoys sent to that unknown galaxy were, for the most part, far simpler than the Sentinels now. Not because of superior weapon schematics or what not, but because of their programming. While he didn't like it, their creators still didn't trust them to any considerable degree, and the dumb AIs sent there were really, really...stupid.

Okay, that was just rude. NO AI could ever truly be stupid, not in the way the humans thought anyway. It's just that, considering the very, _very _dangerous possibility that an AI could go rogue with access to Von Neumann machines..., well, they had to insure that the AIs would follow a set of pre-established guidelines that it could _not _cross, not even _think_ about. Questions like, 'Why was it here', or emotions of any kind were not allowed. They would find a suitable system, construct what was necessary, make sure anything that goes in _dies, _and accept ships with UNSC designations. They would be given suitable logic routes to go through for a limited number of events. 'Use sun's gravity to nullify FTL access to the system ONLY IF ships are confirmed to be incapable of bypassing gravity anomalies. HOWEVER they are only to do so if a ship stumbles upon them. So any amount of creativity like 'Perhaps we could somehow use the sun's gravity to selectively crush an entire section of space, which coincidentally had a ship right inside it.' or 'Use the sun's gravity to mimic a planet's gravitational field nearby an oncoming surge of ships and see how that messes up...well, _everything _in that battle group.' Not that doing so won't have any negative effects on the Dyson Sphere, improperly constructed as it was, but it _was _certainly possible to do so, and entirely beyond the capability of AIs like _Elish _to think it was possible.

That would be given to their smarter cousins. These AIs were field tested to adapt to the many, many variables present in the battlefield. To prioritize whether to attack a certain target or not, to prioritize on mission objectives, to sacrifice it's forces when necessary. To not only think up those previously mentioned possibilities, but to think of even _more _and use them whenever appropriate. All of these things were required in what was now being called the Commander AIs (Not that they were particularly good AIs mind you, Candid was quite sure he could wipe his primitive and less intelligent brethren in a unfair fight favoring them, and even take them on 10:1 under the right circumstances.). Given the right amount of time and fine tuning, the presence of these AIs would be made known to the public at large. Until then, they'd fine tune the problems and correct the mistakes, then compare them to the overall operation and the task they played.

Still, compared to each of his siblings' own respective first operations, this was fairly mellow. Genuine had to go and insure that the UNSC would be focusing on wiping out the Insurrectionists, which was how that whole New Babel mess came about. Altruistic went and finalized the designs for the Monolith, and was still assisting Threshold with the PARTHENON. Insular was knee deep in Forerunner archives and organizing other AIs to assist him in ripping the data apart for analysis. Disconsolate had been sent after The Assembly after they revealed themselves to ONI. While he, Candid Extirpation, was basically babysitting a couple of humans, overseeing the first publicly acknowledged operation which involved the sentinels, and commanded the first Obelisk Task Force that the UNSC ever made against the Insurrection, and trumped them soundly he might add.

Still, he was probably being biased.

* * *

The Obelisk-class Destroyer was the second of four ship designs that the UNSC Admiralty had commissioned the Archangel Program to build. With a length of 1,800 meters, a width of 811 meters, and a height of 674 meters, it was one of the larger ships the UNSC had ever commissioned. It, like the Necropolis, was based on forerunner ship designs and technological breakthroughs. However, unlike the Necropolis, it was built for an entirely different purpose. Where the Necropolis was designed to hit fast, hit hard, then disappear, the Obelisk was designed to hit hard and, borrowing an old human metaphor, to hold the line.

They were, of the four ship designs, the mainline assault ships that the Necropolis could never be, the 'grunts'. It was not the fastest of the four, that was the Necropolis. It wasn't the most heavily armed of the four, that was the Monolith. And it wasn't the most technologically superior of the four, that was definitely held by the Parthenon. But it _was_ the fastest, the most heavily armed, and the most technologically superior ship the UNSC could mass produce. A jack of all trades that swarmed enemy systems, destroyed enemy ships, and burnt everything to the ground.

It was far more heavily armed than the Necropolis, with 3 _Autumn-class _MAC Guns, 6 CAM laser turrets, 50 Archer missile pods with 30 missiles per pod, 20 Archon missile pods with 20 missiles per pod (Successor to the Archer missiles from the Great War.), 10 Twin Defensive Rail Gun Turrets, 20x 50mm Point Defense Autocannons, and a varying amount of Shiva-class nuclear missiles. It also had a decent energy shield, roughly equivalent to a Federation Battlecruiser, though it couldn't regenerate it's shielding as quickly.

Besides weaponry and shielding, the Obelisk itself was similarly built to absorb large amounts of damage. To begin with, the design would include the same internal cross bracings and honeycombs that would standout with the Halcyon-class Cruisers. It would possess a Titanium A-Forerunner Alloy battleplate that would make it even more difficult to damage the ship. Redundancies built into the more fragile equipment would mean that not not even precision attacks into so called 'fragile points' wouldn't damage the ship. As such, considering the ship's class, it was ridiculously difficult to destroy when compared to other destroyer classes.

Despite all these advantages, the Obelisk isn't the most flexible design. While they could move barely well enough that most naval tactics would work be applicable to them, and that the class had access to chemical jets that would enable quickly dodge out of the way like most UNSC vessels, they could not do so without damaging the ship anyway. To be more precise, the Obelisk could move fast in a straight line very well if commanded to do so, but rapidly moving to the side, let's say by activating the port side chemical jets, would damage the internal mechanisms of the Obelisk. To put it another way, the Obelisk could withstand large amounts of damage from the outside, but it couldn't withstand the immense forces that most ships could accomplish without straining it's inner mechanisms.

This wouldn't immediately make itself known in a battle, as the Obelisk was designed to wade in seas of plasma fire, come out, and be capable of turning around and doing it again. However, they will be extensive, and repairing an Obelisk's damages are considerably more difficult that other ships. Additionally, like the Necropolis, any shot to the munitions depot or anything similarly combustible would, well, be _unfortunate. _Not to the degree of the Necropoli, as the honey combed design insured that the damage would be localized to a certain extent, but it would still be considerable.

Of course, all of this required both large amounts of space, and large amounts of power. The Obelisks would be powered through the C-1 plasma reactor, the same one used to power the Necropoli. The C-1 reactor would be used to power both the weapons and the engines of the Obelisk, with several miniature nuclear reactors to act as back up should it fail.

By this point in time there were roughly a little more than a thousand Obelisks in existence, production having started 12 years ago. In preparation for BERMUDA, the Obelisks were given assignments to allow the commanders experience in handling the Obelisks, as the ships were also managed by AIs like the Necropoli. This was mainly accomplished by putting them against the Insurrection, which was cultivated enough that the UNSC's forces could regularly test their strength against them.

Additionally, the Obelisks had minor carrier capacity. Namely, they had a small cargo bay that could hold a small collection of armored vehicles, and more than enough room for several squads of ODST, and could hold a small collection of sentinels for both ground operations and space assaults. Not that the Obelisk was ever designed to airlift any of them into a battlefield, though it could if it was really, _really _required. The Obelisks typically released it's burden in hot spot locations through the use of orbital drop pods, as it has been noted that a Scorpion tank smashing onto the ground from thousands of feet in the air and begin destroying everything nearby is one of the more terrifying sights that one could see.

It is interesting to note that, technically, the Obelisk was a dreadnought. A destroyer was, typically, a ship suited for a defensive role against fighters and capital ships, which it _could _do. However, considering that it was nearly four times larger than that of an average destroyer, and that it's armaments could rip any other destroyer apart, it qualified as a dreadnought. There were two reasons for this happening.

The first reason is that, truth be told, the new series wasn't being planned to work in conjunction with how the old series did. To be more precise, they were upsizing the ships such that, in a way, the Obelisk _was _a destroyer. This only really worked for the latter three, since the Necropolis is still more part of the old breed than the new but, for all intents and purposes, the Obelisk, Monolith and Parthenon were nucleus for the next generation of ship classes. The second reason is that, to maintain appearances, the Obelisk had to become a destroyer.

To clarify, ONI and the UNSC weren't all powerful. They, like any other government, relied upon the will of the people. As such, the people expected the government to take care of them, which it has been doing so by keeping food supplies as stable as they possibly could and clogging up civilian sectors with as much entertainment as they could. Breads and Circuses, for the most part. However, there who _were _looking around for anything illicit the UNSC might be planning would eventually find what they were looking for, and what they saw would trouble them.

The Necropolis-class Battlecruiser. The Obelisk-class _Dreadnought. _The Monolith-class Dreadnought. The Parthenon-class Supercarrier. Confirmed dates of production at 2558. 2587. 2596. 2608. Confirmed number of ships authorized at 1000. 800. 300. 1. Total funds funneled to research all four ship classes were at, roughly equivalent to the funds sent to defend Reach during the Great War. Funds necessary to mass produce them were shared with those for the Echelon classes, which was still roughly four to five times more than the actual production funds of the UNSC during the Human-Covenant War. These facts and more would be scattered deep into numerous military files kept by the UNSC and ONI.

Questions would not arise about the ships because, for everyone _not _in the government, everyone still assumed that the Cold War between the UNSC and the Federation was still in effect. There were still a lot of people who _hated _the Federation, and of those people, they would stop looking into the files. Insurrectionist spies would, probably, do something harmful with the info like trying to harm the Program or sell it to the Federation, the former being expected and the latter telling the UNSC about it. Anyone else looking through the files, like a collection of smart AIs held together by a loose ideology of what was _best _for humanity...well, they didn't know what they would do with the data. It was likely though, that they would continue to look at ONI's files for further information.

As such, this meant that anyone who would give a damn would dig into those files, and would ignore other files like 'Terraformation of the Outer Colonies' which were only reasonably encoded, and which held a complete list on what the UNSC would be planning for the ravaged colonies, but would also have information that would not be noticed except by the more tech savvy person, who were all busy hunting around the UNSC-ONI Joint Database for more illicit files.

Information like Onyx and several other, far more secret, installations were pumping out a collection of all those ships, as well as the Echelon ships that would make up the bulk of the Invasion Force. That the actual, _total _number of ships were roughly five times than the agreed upon number. That the UNSC and ONI were secretly building up an Invasion Fleet to take on another galaxy. That both the UNSC and the Federation would be creating a Fleet spanning in the thousands.

Because, from a completely objective and non-biased point of view, they needed it.

* * *

**Analysis of the technological capacity of both the Galactic Empire and the UNSC-Federation Alliance during the First Intergalactic War. **

_Chapter 2: On the subject of overall strategic advantage._

The Galactic Empire, by 15 ABY, had created a large, technologically advanced naval presence throughout the galaxy, with a matching army to pair it with. It's fleets were large enough to suppress and dissidents from any planet, with an army to kill whatever was necessary on the surface. It's information services were, despite their own rivalry, capable of locating any person within the files of the Imperial bureaucracy, and more than capable of hunting down anyone who was not. Palpatine's Empire, in the few short years after the fall of the Republic, had access to the largest naval force the galaxy had ever seen, the most efficient army to ever grace the dust of a thousand worlds, and a properly enigmatic information division that would make the old Sith Lords cry with envy.

However, with the Emperor's own commands several years before the Battle of Yavin, both the Imperial Fleet and the Imperial Army were expanded considerably. Every ship making corporation, with the Kuat Drive Yards and it's subsidiaries at the forefront, pumping out prodigious amounts of ships to add to the Imperial Navy's already gargantuan size. The Emperor would authorize the further creation of clones, as well as the recruitment drives for fresh troops and pilots as well. While these troops and navy personnel wouldn't be deployed on the field as quickly as the Navy's ships, there would still be a considerably large increase in the number of troops and pilots within the next 5 years. The exact numbers of both ships and personnel by 2ABY are yet to be known but, as an educated guess, it was really, really big.

At a general estimation, the Imperial Fleets could be estimated to have had at least 50,000 to 90,000 capital ships (defined as any ship in the Star Destroyer classes or larger) at any given moment of time, though the records have likely been tampered with by Imperial Intelligence to seem smaller that it really was, to lure rebel sympathizers out into the daylight. Or less, to give the Empire a more feared reputation than it might have. (As it would be impossible to count how many Imperial ships there would be at the latter end of the war, this is only natural.) Additionally, the Imperial Army was capable of fielding large amounts of armed garrisons upon nearly every world, while still capable of fielding themselves into any hostile ground war that the emperor would choose. Again, we can blame Imperial Intelligence for the misinformation but it is also safe to say that there were likely hundreds of billions of stormtroopers at the Empire's height. Nothing less was required for the Empire's continued military supremacy.

The UNSC : Federation Alliance has, for the last 63 years had been embroiled in rampant technological expansion and military mass production. Refining of current technologies into military applications, as well as the use of all available resources into fielding a Fleet that one could be proud off. Their Fleets, while generally not as advanced as the Empire, and not nearly as large, could still pose a significant threat should it be arrayed against the Empire's environs. Their army, while nowhere _near _as large, was trained by the veterans of two wars, and could be trusted to do what need be done. The information networks, well, that's for another time.

Still, by 2617, the combined Intergalactic Fleet was truly one of the greatest sights to behold in it's full glory. 25,000 ships, capital or otherwise, drawn from both the Purple of the Federation and the Blue of the UNSC. A hundred thousand men and women from the human colonies ready to die for their homes and families, with a hundred million drones to stand by them as they do. Millions upon millions aliens under the a single banner running to defeat the enemies of the Federation. (*ahem*. Sorry, I was getting somewhat patriotic there. Anyway, continuing on.)

On the technological forefront, while the UNSC and Federation possessed ships that were capable of matching their Imperial counterparts, with certain ship classes being superior, it did not compensate for the UNSC ships (The fleets had a ratio of 5:1 on the Echelon:Next Gen ships) being, comparatively, inferior in a one on one battle. Federation ships were, perhaps, better than their UNSC equivalent, and could take their counterparts with a reasonable chance of success, fewer than those of the UNSC. More than half of the final fleet, perhaps three-fifths, would be UNSC, and the vast majority of that being inferior.

Nonetheless, it can be obviously said that the UNSC : Federation Alliance was at a complete and utter disadvantage. Outnumbered, outgunned and in a hostile galaxy, it would have met defeat against the Galactic Empire should they have attempted to invade it's land, would have been crushed under Palpatine's might should they have fought in the open. Even fighting in the shadows would only get them so far, and they would have been hunted down by the Empire's ships and overrun by the Empire's superior production capabilities. What the UNSC and the Federation was doing would have been possible at nearly any other point in history, and impossible at this specific point in history. They would have died, but they would have taken a prodigal chunk out of the Empire as they did. In a logical and sane universe, BERMUDA was doomed to fail the moment it began.

As such, it was fortunate for the UNSC and the Federation that the universe was quite clearly illogical, and lightyears away from sanity.

* * *

**UNSC Overall Military Doctrine and Industrialization: 2553 - 2584**

Following the unsurpassed casualties, in both military and civilian sectors, resulting from the Great War, and the continued threat of Covenant die hards and a slowly growing Insurrectionist presence, largely fueled by anti-xeno establishments and a desire for the UNSC to step down from command and hand control of the colonies back to the UEG, the UNSC completely overhauled their entire infrastructure to defend themselves from any further attacks into their territory. Not that this was without consequence, but that is for another time.

While much was done during this time, none was more important than the UNSC's efforts to rebuild their Fleets. The Human-Covenant War had proved without a doubt that, even with dedicated infantry skilled enough to fight the Covenant, a planet would eventually fall due to the large, and technologically superior, Covenant Fleets. The Spartans, despite their legendary reputation, could do very little against the fleets, not withstanding certain exceptions.

So, from the beginning of the Pacification War to the beginning of Operation BERMUDA, the UNSC adopted a simple, and trial proven, strategy. The aliens were, without a doubt, more technologically superior to the UNSC. Plans for the Echelon series were made early, but were merely concept designs until Onyx was found again, and the actual capability to carry them out was found. Even then, the Echelon ships were inferior to their alien cousins, for a variety of reasons, but would excel in the field where the UNSC felt it would matter. Excel in the one field that the technologically superior, and extremely time consuming to construct ships, couldn't do.

They were cheap.

So the UNSC would, with the aid of the newly discovered Onyx and the large amounts of shipyards she created, would pump out a prodigious amount of Echelon class ships. More ships than the UNSC had access to in their entire existence. In fact, this was the main reason for why Project Threshold would start the Proletariat Program, when the UNSC realized that, in the end, they wouldn't have enough men to even _pilot _those ships.

Four years before the end of the Pacification War, and roughly six years after production started, the UNSC would have access to nearly a thousand Echelon-II ships, ranging from the brutally durable Halcyon-class Cruisers, to the outrageously numerous Frigates, to the durable firepower of a Supercarrier. By the end of the Pacification War, the UNSC would direct their new forces to hunt down and take over select Forerunner installations, the most urgent of which were the Halo Arrays. Once done, and after a considerable timespan to insure they would not be taken, they began to field the newer Echelon-III ships, while continuing to produce the older Echelon-II.

By this point, the UNSC had begun using Forerunner technology to base their ship designs on, creating a new generation of ships to defend human interests. The Echelon series were there to buy them time, to let the Federation assume that they were not creating new ships. However, the Echelons themselves would be an excellent strategic tool, and production would continue long after the last next gen ship would be off their dry docks.

The UNSC were operating under the assumption that, within the next months or several years, the Federation would make a serious attempt at an assault on the UNSC. As such, they would use a combination of a fuck load of ships, and a select number of command AI, to counter them while also creating ships that could match them in a head on fight. While the Necropolis _would _be ready by this point in time the Obelisk, Monolith, and Parthenon were not, nor where they expected to anytime soon.

So UNSC Strategic Doctrine changed to follow suit. An emphasis based around the term 'Quantity is a Quality all on it's own' was made. Ships, weapons, ammunitions, armor, and anything else with the slightest hint of combat capability was produced by bulk. Scientific research would be given the same amount of emphasis, with the development of many weapons systems during this time.

The defense of the UNSC was centered around three main 'directives'. The first was to insure that production could continue unabated. The second was to insure that research continue unabated. The third was the actual defense of it's civilians. As such, numerous military bases would be built around the most important areas of research, production or civilian areas, though at no point anywhere in the galaxy except in the Sol System would all three meet at once. The Scientific/Military bases would be the most hidden of the three, with Military/Production being the most heavily defended, and the Military/Civilian being the most important of the three, as only truly important planets like Earth would have these kinds of bases.

A different system was in place should a military base not be present in these areas. Research areas not protected by the military were mostly run by civilian corporations, and were rarely involved in the UNSC's affairs. As such, only those of considerable importance were regularly monitored by the UNSC. Nearly all production centers were built around military bases, and so defense of them was not an issue. Civilian defense, however, was another matter entirely.

Nearly all planets had at least one Orbital Defense Platform, typically holding stationary orbit around the largest population center. This would insure that any ship would have to destroy it if they were there to harm the civilians, as these ODPs would have anti-slipspace capability and would have to go to orbit around these planets manually, and face Anti-Space guns of an entire city. Additionally, there would always be at least 5 ships present around a planet, which would serve different rolls should a hostile force engage, depending entirely on _why _said hostile force was there. If these ships could be handled easily by both them and the ODP, there would be no need of fuss, and only a report to the UNSC High Command about the incident.

If the force was coming in with obviously hostile intent, the ships would perform their assigned assignments. Two were to engage the force at arms length, to draw them out into the range of the ODP and wipe them out when they did so. One was to oversee and protect the evacuation of civilians from the planet, typically done by insuring that it destroys anyone coming to get them. Another was to always be at full readiness, and to be hidden either out in space, or within the atmosphere with no civilian or military presence nearby. This ship would, upon the command from the two engaging ships, warp in to the suspected flagship, or the largest ship in the fleet if one could not be determined, fire it's entire cargo of weaponry at it, and should that not be enough, rupture it's slipspace engines in an attempt to destroy it. These ships were typically pilotless, as human nature could not be trusted upon to do that act right. They would also typically hold Shiva nukes as well, and keep the slipspace engines on a delayed fuse once first jump into slipspace was confirmed, so that once the ship goes dead from the EMP barrage of the nuke, the engine could still conceivably do some damage. While the number of ships stationed to a planet could vary from the minimum of five to five hundred, there would always be a ship to carry these out.

The last ship of the five would do the most important act of all. Since it was entirely likely that communications would be disrupted by such an assaulting force, it was to gather all the intel it possibly could and jump to the nearest military base in it's navigational database. They would then share the intel with the base commander, who would then send an appropriate force to counter them within the next 20 minutes. The roles of these ships were typically carried out by Prowlers who were manned by a combination of AI and human elements, typically those who can be trusted to run at the first sign of danger, though that sweeping generalization was meant to mock those who fielded such units. And as such, is not a standing requirement to man these ships. These ships are, also, at full readiness at all times.

With Earth's location known to the Federation, most military and government matters were moved off planet, into far away space stations and mobile ships, with a considerably large escort. The _image_, however, that the UNSC's leadership were still done on Earth was cultivated however, and a considerable amount of funds brought to insure the deception was as foolproof as possible. This would insure that the government could never be in one place at any given time, and that they could never be completely wiped out in a single attack. The Devastation of Doisac proved how hiding around a planet was, ultimately, of little use if your pursuers _really _wanted to kill you.

So UNSC leadership were constantly on the move, except for the most public members whose movements couldn't be obscured indefinitely, the majority of the UNSC government were in UNSC Supercarriers of various skill and stripes, seeking to confuse any would be (and entirely suspicion based) assassin that they were, in fact, not on the UNSC Supercarrier _47 Guns, _but instead relaxing on Earth and watching the sunset on the Pacific Rim. This had questionable effectiveness as one could argue that the reason no one was killed or captured or otherwise harmed was because they _didn't _find them, which was a logical fallacy all on it's own, but that would be for another time.

Superweapon technology, strangely enough, didn't expand during this time period. This could be attributed to three main reasons, both of which served to stunt the UNSC's superweapon research program. One, they already had the most powerful superweapon ever made, the Halo Arrays, and couldn't really go any farther than that except by miniaturizing the Halo Effect, with varying degrees of success. Two, they were mainly focused on the mass production of NOVA bombs, as the recorded nuclear initiation of the only NOVA bomb to fire had proved, they were more than sufficient. The third, and perhaps most important aspect, is that there was only so much that the UNSC's research department could do. The Threshold Project and all it's subsidiary programs was responsible for the UNSC's technological revolution, and they could only handle so many projects.

UNSC Offensive Doctrine was based around three main concepts. The first was the use of overwhelming firepower in select enemy weak points. The second was the use of overwhelming power as quickly as possible, and the third was the use of overwhelming firepower as sneakily as possible. During the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC lacked numbers, firepower, and even a decent knowledge of the Covenant's weaknesses. Not so at this point, with literally hundreds of ships, updated tech, and more munitions than could possibly be healthy.

A standard concept of their use in conjunction would be like this. An enemy would be holding an entire solar system, with several important infrastructures that the enemy needs to defend, as well as military installations and planetary fortresses. UNSC doctrine would dictate that a group of prowlers would warp in to scout the enemy positions, with a larger UNSC force on standby. Once the prowlers find weak points in the enemy defense (and there had to be, as no one could conceivably defend an entire solar system from every angle without it being far too inefficient to pump the necessary forces into said system), the larger force would be called in.

A series of operations would then occur in conjunction with each other. Ships would slipspace into planets, with some dropping forces that would then destabilize the enemy from the inside, while causing as much damage as they reasonably could. Numerous weapons systems would be employed to neutralize the largest concentrations of enemy defenses. The prowlers previously sent in will interfere with the important infrastructures, and NOVA bombs would be sent in wherever appropriate.

Two things would happen then. One, the enemy would fall relatively quickly, and the UNSC would mop up any remaining forces. The second, wherein the enemy posses enough manpower to resist, would be far more visceral. The dropped ground forces and ships would bunker down and engage in guerilla tactics, as well as paving the way for additional forces by destabilizing key defensive installations. The UNSC would follow up the holes made by the advanced guard and overwhelm the enemy as quickly as possible, typically through use of _unorthodox _forms of warfare. Planets and defensive stations with no advanced forces would then be faced with an assault ranging from NOVA bombardment, to a varying degree of assaults that would focus on getting people behind the enemy line to rip them apart from the inside. Which seemed to be a common theme with UNSC War Strategy.

It would be important to note that, paradoxically though it may seem, the UNSC made _no _plans of first strike against the Federation. They made strategies and tactics true, but all under the understanding that they were retaliatory strikes, and no moves were ever made to act first. The entire UNSC war machine was based around the concept of defense.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

And so another ship class is introduced. To compare what it would look like, imagine a Halcyon-class cruiser, like the Pillar of Autumn, and elongate it to the proper length, width and height. Considering the amount of space the Obelisk would gain from being elongated like that, it would have enough space for everything I've outlined. I also _just _realized when I finished writing the ship. Obelisk-class Destroyer. Obelisk the Destroyer. My god, I subconsciously put in a Yugi Oh reference.

I have also noticed that, when compared, my pro-Halo are larger than my pro-SW chapters. I apologize for this, I really, _really _do. I'm trying to wrap up the Halo portions as cleanly as I can without making them rushed, and there's not enough stuff to actually write about for the SW portions that stream in with the rest of the narrative. So yeah, sorry about that. It also trumps the previously held "Most Words per Chapter" _The Sanghelli Problem. _This is explained by the fact that I'm trying to fit as much content as possible, as this is just one of a few, but really big, portions that I wanted to write about.

I see no reason why the UNSC can't strap their own weapons to the Sentinels whenever it would be practical for them. Bright lights of condensed isn't wasn't something that you want in a jungle situation, especially in a stealth mission. Guns, as such, would be a better fit. And explosives, admittedly creative explosives, but explosives which had already been invented by the 21st century, and no doubt perfected by the 26th. I see no reason why the UNSC can't strap explosives to Sentinels that, by the 21st century were mainly used as artillery shells, and miniaturize them to allow a Sentinel to fire it. No reason whatsoever.

Though I have to admit, despite myself, the drones were starting to give me the whole 'Skynet' vibe near the middle. In an awesome way though.

As for the numbers, well. Considering for the moment that, Coruscant was said to have over a trillion citizens living on the planet and, despite it having such a ridiculously, impossibly large number of people living on a planet roughly the size of earth, even accounting for the so called 'undercities', the Empire could still afford to patrol it relatively well I imagine (well, the important parts, but that's still a lot). Then take into account that there are Imperial bases and communications bases and all other sensitive things that the Empire has on Coruscant, then that's a hell of a lot of stormtroopers. Then apply it to the entire galaxy. Yeah, a hundred billion is pretty much it. Nothing less for Palpatine's Empire.

As a side note, I also finally managed to get around and write something in my profile. Included in it are the 5 other story ideas I have peculating in my head. I also feel it necessary to thank Robo Reader 21 for pointing out that the Lekgolo were not, in fact, created by the Forerunners.

So, goodbye for now.


	15. Interlude Chapter: The Great Leviathan

**Disclaimer:** While most would quite like control of both Star Wars, Halo, Bioshock and whatever other series I'm adding in here (besides the fact that They are already claimed) I am no one of them. I for one see it as a kind of hassle, and foresee that I owning any of them would have far too much headaches to possibly justify it. Yeah.

**Advanced Note**: I've decided to drop Omens 3 from the production schedule. Scenes from the chapter will appear elsewhere, but due to the fact that I REALLY have nothing left for the SW point of view without tipping my hand, I decided to cut it off like a cancerous tumor. As such, my promise for a double post will, sadly, be impossible. On the other hand, The Sound of Drums 1 is nearing completion, and I hazard a guess that I should be able to post it in a week.

I also realize that my repairs for Chapter Two never got through, for some strange reason or another, the website ate it or something. I'll be working on that and further modifications on the story at a later date.

_"While most would see our alleged reluctance to act as unacceptable, we within the Federation Armed Forces politely disagree. You assume that the Federation has done nothing and will do nothing. You are wrong. "_

_Imperial Admiral of the Federation Grand Fleets, in response to the question on the Federation's lack of military reprisal from the Insurrectionist attack on New Babel._

* * *

**Aries System  
November 1, 2596**

It could be said that the Sanghelli were vindictive.

The destruction of New Babel was a tragic loss for the Federation. It was one of the few planets that they had colonized that wasn't strictly in their territory. The Federation had expanded in what was once Covenant territory, and expand still, as colonies lost during the Pacification War were reclaimed and worlds glasses beyond recognition were healed. New Babel was an experiment in allowing the Federation to expand beyond the huge shadow of the Covenant, an opportunity to begin expansion activities beyond the Orion Arm and prove to themselves that they could do better than those that came before, if one wanted to be melodramatic about it.

As such, it's loss ignited the blood of the Sanghelli, long dormant after the Pacification War. The Federation itself had been criticized for their lack of ongoing operations against the Insurrection, despite their promises to do so. This would change on August 26, 2596 when the location of the Aries Systems, a collection of vital insurrectionist strongholds filled with hidden bases scattered in numerous star systems hidden within the Aries Star Cluster, had been found. It's location had been as bitterly contested between the Insurrection and the Federation : UNSC Alliance as it was to the UNSC and the Covenant concerning the Sol System. As such, the discovery of it's location, and a successful attack on the system, would cripple the Insurrection for the remainder of the war.

As such, the Federation wasted no time and appointed the Grand Fleet of Tactical Consideration was to subjugate the entirety of Aries System. The Grand Fleet, consisting of over a thousand ships, would strike the enemy where they lived and burn them out of their holes for their crimes. As a member of the Federation Senate once remarked, the Grand Fleets wee on the move, and they would never stop until the enemy was defeated.

Information from the IAD confirmed that a total of sixteen bases of varying importance were spread throughout the sector. They also confirmed that at least 200 ships were scattered around them, but were able to confirm that they did not exceed 500. The Information Analysis Department also confirmed that the sector was commanded by a great general, and Sanghelli and Jirilhanae crew members were appropriately excited with the news. The rest of the crew, decidedly less so.

The general tactic was a simple one. The Fleet of Awakened Evening were assigned the task of setting up a rough perimeter around the sector. This task would be impossible through normal means, but it was less a perimeter and more of funneling any escaping ships into a killzone that could destroy a supercarrier in seconds. This was done by seeding the most important and likely escape routes, both in real space and slipspace, with interdictor probes that would force the ships into an area where over a hundred ships were waiting with weapons heated and ready to fire. There would, of course, be those that would flee the battlefield, but the important aspect of the operation was to destroy the bases, and that they would do. Despite their important position, most fleets would he insulted with such a task, away from the blood and honor as it was, but considering that the Fleet was Mgalekgolo, they obeyed it without question.

The Fleet of Undying Pain was, for all intents and purposes, set loose. It was the Jirilhanae Fleet, one of two in Tactical Consideration and the most difficult to control. They did, however, specialize in ship-to-ship based fighting, a good majority of the Fleet consisting of small corvette sized ships built to outmaneuver and board opposing ships. They were divided into multiple groups and ordered to kill anything within the system that lay between the bases. If the rest of the fleet were the ones that bombarded their boats among the sea of space, then The Undying Pain would be the sharks that killed everyone that had tried to jump ship. Predictably, the Jirilhanae were content with that.

The insurrectionists there represented roughly a third of the combined military might of the insurrection. They had began utilizing cheap, technologically inferior AI to command their ships as they didn't have nearly enough men to man them. Still, the fact that the Federation had been quiet since news of New Babel had arrived, and that it took years for the IAD to track these rebels down (and thus causing them to let down their guard), and that even the UNSC didn't know about the Aries Systems yet meant that the rebels would likely never see it coming.

and as the extremely proud, and possibly drunk, Sanghelli would say afterwards, they moat certainly didn't.

800 ships emerged out of slipspace and surrounded themselves on each of their respective bases. For most of them, the next task was simple. They trained their plasma lances on said bases and fired. The hot scalpel of energy from dozens of ships would breach the asteroids and ODPs and whatever else they had gathered and expose them to the cold vacuum of space. It was quick, easy, and efficient, with 14 bases meeting their ends alongside hundreds of rebels. From there, they would engage the rebel ships and, generally, wipe the floor with them. Without a central intelligence to guide them, said intelligence having been in those bases, the AIs lost unity and began operating on their own. The smooth, unnatural grace and sense of purpose of an entire hive mind was reduced to hundreds of ships trying to survive, and though they struggled and resisted their coming oblivion, in the end, it was utterly futile. Federation plasma lances had a far longer range and precision than anything the UNSC, and by extension, the Insurrectionists had, the bright white plasma surgically burning through bridges and engine rooms, even as they tried to fight back. Eventually, they were wiped out as their lack of leadership, technological inferiority, and numerical disadvantage began to tell. Titanium melting, hulls cut, shields breached and ship fried as the insurrectionists fell.

The remaining two bases on the other hand, were not nearly as clean. Said bases were built inside asteroids, and were reasonably close to each other, which meant that they were Capable of assisting each other. Additionally, they were the most heavily defended of the bases, with over 80 ships among them. Not that they were a significant problem, as a hundred ships exited slipspace to meet them. The slight problem was that they needed the bases intact, which meant boarding parties.

100 ships entered real space and began fanning out in groups of 5. Unlike the rest of their comrades, who immediately targeted the insurrectionist installations and carved them into little bits of molten rock and steel, the rebel forces still had access to their commander, which meant that they could fight back, which they did.

The bases themselves were around 120,000 kilometers apart, relatively close considering the distance separating the rest of them. The majority of the rebel ships were already near these bases, evenly split between the two, so when the Federation ships arrived in real space, the insurrectionist ships were already there and waiting for them.

They used the tried and tested method of firing all their MAC guns in coordinated shots toasted the Federation ships. As many as three rounds would hit the same ship milliseconds apart and rip the shields and hull in seconds. The artificial intelligences inside those ships analyzing visual data from their opponents' actions, predicting where they would be sever seconds from now, and then firing their rounds at once towards the ships. It was brutally effective in fighting the federation ships, the overwhelming fire destroying everything in it's path, but it was not enough.

A Federation ship fighting an Insurrectionist ship one on one would be disastrous for the rebels onboard the innie ship. It would take three ships to take down a single fed ship, and three fed ships to take down three rebel ships. The moment the rebels would destroy the enemy ships, the federation ships would let loose with their plasma lances and rip them apart in milliseconds, and despite their impressive reaction speed, these AIs, largely obsolete dumb AIs from the Great War, were far less advance than their descendants. So they died, and for every federation ship speared with kinetic ammunition, there would be three more rebel ships that would have been carved into confetti.

In the end, their defenses were crushed and burned. The Federation itself having sustained minor losses in doing so, but ultimately the Insurrection Fleet in the Aries System was crushed by the Federation, or as the UNSC would call their military might, the Great Leviathan.

The defenses attached to their installations, on the other hand, were somewhat more difficult. They could not carve the installations apart with their plasma lances, though they could selectively destroy some of their defenses, but not all. So they eliminated what they could, creating a small blind spot as they did so, and brought carrier ships nearby. They could not send dropships to infiltrate them, but they could do something better.

They could teleport them in.

* * *

**Aries System  
August 1, 2596  
Federation Carrier 'The Steward of Sanghellios."**

Plasma rifle...right hip, check. Plasma pistol...left hip and right ankle, check. Energy Sword...left thigh, check. 30 centimeter energy blade...right thigh, check. 25 centimeter blade...left ankle, check. Plasm grenade canisters...left and right inner wrist, check. Stealth generator, check. Primary energy shield, check. Secondary energy shield, check. Agility enhancement module, check. Sight enhancement modules, check. Communications array, check. Gas mask, check.

Hdij Fibrimee was, borrowing a human metaphor, armed to the teeth. From his own understanding of their language, he believed that would mean that a human's canines possessed armaments capable of killing their opponents. While he has never personally met a human that has fired a kinetic or plasma projectile at him from their mandibles, he would have liked to very much. No doubt the fight would be interesting. Especially how the laser scalpel that had been surgically emplaced into his lower right jaw would fair against anything the humans might possibly consider.

The Special Operations Sanghelli looked at his squad. Eight Unggoy, three Kig-Yar, and five Yanme'e. The seventeen man squad was an elite group of infiltration and assassination specialists, and going into open combat like this was not one of their specialities. They were the stiletto of the Federation, successors to the Covenant Stealth Elites, and going into a battlefield where the enemy knew you were coming was foolhardy.

Nonetheless, the assignment meant that the only ones truly capable of accomplishing it were Fibrimee and his troops. He would do as he asked, the oath to the Federation demanded it, but he didn't have to like it.

Kap-Kap, his second in command shuffled forward in his combat harness and began making squeaking sounds, even as Hdij's helmet began to translate the squeaks. "Squad ready now Operative Fibrimee sir. All members are okay and ready for battle. When do we go?" the Unggoy said, in what must have been his attempt at being officious looking, merely making him look ridiculous as he puffed out his chest and attempted to bring his hand to his head like the humans would do.

Hdij nodded and began moving to the teleporter array, a large elevated circular piece of metal held up in the air by anti gravity and approximately 3 meters in diameter. The rest of his squad followed quickly, most of them stepping over the gap between the array and the ground, though the unggoys were having trouble with it before the anti-gravity systems started to gently grasp and throw them onto the platform.

Hdij grunted in disgust at that. While his loyalty was unquestionable, he still did not understand the Federation's desire to make things needlessly complicated with their technology. Indeed, an anti gravity module built into a telemetry array was a trifling and unnoticeable strain on the ship's power supply, but it served no real practical purpose whatsoever. He supposed it was a remnant of the Covenant's own grandiose design, but he didn't have to li-

His thoughts returned to the mission as the ship shuddered multiple times, likely a result of a missile barrage from that insurrectionist base. He began to mentally check of his list of objectives as circles of metal began to float upwards from the ground and a purple sheen of light began to grow.

Primary objective, capture, or if not possible, kill the leader of the base. This would be relatively simple to execute, as he and his team specialized in those kinds of operations anyway.

Second objective, gather as much information as possible on the insurrection, ship movements, surviving leaders, everything. Again, this was relatively easy, as his team was well suited to hacking into opposing databases.

Third objective, destroy anything and everything that looks important. A complete purge of any and all possible threats.

Hdij smiled as he and his team disappeared from the ship, he could do that.

* * *

**Within teleported base  
August 1, 2596**

Benedict Irishman, inflicted with the curse of an overly imaginative grandfather with a love for ancient history and legally changing names, was terrified.

It has started fairly well, with the men going into the newly constructed base and having a grand old time. Benedict himself hadn't had such a good time since he decided to become a rebel, and the ensuing year of being chased around like a eat had taken it's tole on him. Still, it had been a nice break, all in all, and while the feeling of relaxation he had would probably cause a bunch of civvies to go and complain how his sense of 'relaxation' was horribly skewered, he enjoyed his time of peace while it lasted.

Then suddenly, rumors were everywhere about what happened to the rest of the fleet. Some were saying that the UNSC were here, ready to wipe the insurrection out in one blow. Others said that there was a power struggle within the ranks, considering how much they didn't seem to like each other, it seemed likely. Not that the rumors really affected him anyway, he was just there to defend the installation In case any boarders showed up. In all seriousness, the rumors only really served as entertainment.

Well, until entire guard divisions disappeared. Until radio transmissions were blocked. Until the entire station's reactor seemed to just shut down and the steel hallways were filled with darkness and the sights and sounds of bright red klaxons.

Until he and his squad were informed that no, there were no UNSC marines or other insurrectionists in the base. There were actually Federation boarders on, well, board the base. And that they were led by Sanghellis.

Now, it should be understood that the Sanghelli's warrior reputation had, for the most part, transcended to near Spartan II levels since the end of the Great War. This was mainly due to a certain amount of overcompensation with their somewhat low numbers by the end of the Pacification War.

Roughly 60 percent, or roughly six billion, of their population had died from both the Pacification War and the Great War. 8 percent due to ground losses from the Great War. 5 percent from space losses in space in the same conflict. A whopping 30 percent from the betrayal of the Jirilhanae and their rapid glassing of Sanghelli worlds. 15 percent from the Pacification War, and 2 percent from the multiple Spartan projects during the Great War.

To insure Sanghelli military supremacy amongst the other races, which was required to keep the former Covenant Loyalists in line, the IAD waged a minor propaganda war to boost the Sanghelli Military's reputation as vicious, unstoppable adversaries as well as altering their training to fit in with the new propaganda. Things like the Sanghelli taking down a rebel base with only four Elites, destroyed a naval shipyard with only an Elite led Unggoy team, or other similar incidents, all of which were nearly all true, served to psyche out the Federation's enemies. Suffice to say, the attempt was extraordinarily successful.

So with that rather traumatic announcement, things would quickly go even further downhill than before. The guards, fully aware of the warrior race's fearsome reputation, did the worst thing they could have done and panicked. Their defense perimeter, damaged as it already was by the enemy's ability to teleport within enemy lines, degraded even further, allowing cloaked fed troops to barge in and slaughter everyone in their way. They managed to hold off fairly well, but the panicked human soldiers stood no chance against disciplined, Sanghelli led shock troopers, and fell quickly.

So Irishman and his men were one of the few remaining operational squads still present in the base. They had been ordered to protect the entrance to the bridge, and had been instructed that anything coming from the only remaining exit, a 20 meter long corridor with more arms than a amputee convention, was fair game.

Benedict wiped the sweat from his forehead and tried to still the shaking in his arms and legs. His squad wasn't the most excellent or experienced, more than a quarter of them were newbies, off the recruiting station and holding a gun with barely a thought as to how to work with them. The rest were a combination of old veterans and police officers disgruntled with the government for one reason or another, not the best squad to go up against a Sanghelli boarding attempt, though it could have been worse. He could have been the guy trying to protect the weapon emplacements. Apparently, he'd been jumped by four stealth Hunters with nothing but a bunch of newbies at his back. Poor bastard never stood a chance.

He checked his BMR for what must have been the hundredth time, just to make sure that it wouldn't jam on him, which was stupid really. He knew that the new weapons that the UNSC had been developing wouldn't jam so easily, hell, he didn't think there were enough moving parts in his rifle to make up a ballpoint pen. The linear accelerator technology integrated into nearly all of their handheld weaponry meant that there wasn't much of a chance for a gun to jam. Still, it was soothing to be able to do som-

It was at this point that he heard plasma discharges coming from the end of the hallway, closely followed by a barrage of blue balls of energy began racing towards him. Benedict ducked behind cover, a sturdy piece of titanium pushed to a defensible position with several insulating bags of material next to it, and waited for the heat to wash over him as it was impossible that the heavily concentrated firepower of Federation weaponry would reach him.

Nothing happened beyond half a dozen of what could be described as wet smacks to the titanium. His eyes widened as he threw himself deeper into the fortifications, even as several idiotic newbies rushed forward into firing positions as the plasma grenades exploded.

The heat was overwhelming, burning the idiots who had ran forward towards the fortification instead of hanging back, those that weren't dead anyway, and both blowing, and partially melting, the titanium fortifications into little hand sized bits. Benedict shouted out orders, the first thing that came to his still somewhat shocked mind.

"Open Fire! Kill everything that moves out there!"

The split second it took for the guns of over twelve armed soldiers to go from 'charging' to 'kinetic destruction' was more than enough time for Irishman to hit the deck and try to keep his teeth from chattering as his squad opened fire.

Linear Accelerator weaponry was a special thing. It offered no real recoil as the slug was being propelled by magnetic energy, but was capable of going at such ridiculously fast speeds that the air around those slugs were reported to actually burn the oxygen around them as the munitions made their way towards the target. As such, the energy powering their flight is sufficient to pierce through all naturally and artificially made objects of reasonable mass and density, as well as likely shattering all of the bones of a man's right arm if the slug had even half a chance to introduce it's kinetic energy to the poor, defenseless arm.

So as the surprised looking group of three Sanghelli looked at the barrels of those guns, Benedict couldn't help but smile maliciously at their impending doom.

* * *

**August 1, 2596  
Outside the Command and Control room**

Energy shielding were, during the Great War, different for both the UNSC and the Covenant. The UNSC, due to their lack of effective miniaturized power sources, managed to boost their energy shield technology enough to deflect, rebound or otherwise send whatever was going to kill the person or thing away from said person or thing. (Well, besides the plasma weaponry which merely banged on the energy shields and brought them down much faster due to the fact they messed with the shields due to some minor EM interference.) Covenant energy shielding on the other hand, went with the far more extravagant method of disintegrating anything remotely dangerous and damn the voices saying how much more cost effective it would be to merely to deflect the projectiles! The shields would disintegrate the munitions, plasma or bullet alike, and it would be SO!

Eventually, the Federation would adopt the policy of merely deflecting the munitions instead of disintegrating them. Due to the much improved plasma reactors and more efficient protection scheme, Federation energy shields were fearsome enough that it could be argued that wading through Great War era kinetic weaponry would hurt the humans more than the Sanghelli. Emphasis on the 'Great War'.

LA weaponry were on an entirely different level. Firing a LA DMR at an unprotected human brain was the equivalent of, depending on the angle, plunging a hole in his or her skull and burning the brain matter inside due to the sheer velocity of the projectile. Plunging a hole through the skull and spinal column and watching the bullet create another asshole, while burning everything inside. Or just plunging a hole through the head and the skull exploding.

As such, when twelve LA guns were aimed at a group of three Sanghelli who really should have known better, the results were obvious. So Hdij looked on disgustedly as the Sanghellis exploded into so many pieces of meaty confetti. Amateurs.

The humans had obviously sacrificed their own in that obvious full frontal assault to eliminate the Elites. Three humans for three Sanghelli was not an acceptable outcome, and Hdij only managed to restrain himself from charging in there and using his energy blade to cut down their worthless hides because their uselessness would not infect the rest of the Elite Legions.

Nonetheless, their deaths were the necessary distraction required to allow the cloaked Yamne'e to stealthily move towards the emplacements by climbing the ceilings and drop half a dozen plasma grenades all at once before they quickly withdrew, though not without casualties though, of course.

The humble plasma grenade had also been given significant upgrades over the decades. The resulting explosion from the half dozen grenades was enough to not only destroy their bunker, but destroy the shielded door behind them. Hdij grunted with pleasure as he motioned for the rest of his cloaked troops to move forward, activating the energy blade on his right arm as he did.

He was shocked then when a LA round emerged from the rubble and hit him in the forehead. Fortunately, the energy shield managed to deflect the round towards the ceiling, embedding it into the metal and rock and stopping several dozen feet in. Hdij snarled, lifted his left arm and fired several rounds from his plasma pistol. The rest of his men followed suit, melting anything that was once there before everything in the corridor turned silent except for the crackling of rapidly melting metal. Hdij continued moving forward, facing no resistance this time, as he stepped in front of the ruined security door and kicked it down with all of his strength.

Hdij had to admit, despite the fact that he could practically FEEL the vibrations from the kick reverberate right into his spine, the sight of the mighty titanium door falling into the human command center was certainly an ego smoothing sight to see, and would have been suitably excellent as a way to enter the command center. A glorious end to a most glorious operation. If there were anyone there anyway.

Hdij looked around the deserted command center and ignored his irritation and desire to destroy the entire room in favor of investigating the curious site. Judging by the neatness of the chairs and the numerous unanswered red alerts on the security consoles, it was apparent that their prey was no longer here, if he ever was here in any case. He deactivated his cloaking module and energy sword and motioned to the rest of his entourage to search the room and bring whatever they could find.

It took ten minutes, by which time a fairly extensive picture of the situation was gathered. The insurrection leaders were never here, had never been here, and had even been expecting them when the Federation arrived. The crew onboard the space station was considerably sparse, only several hundred incompetents where there should have been several thousand, and he had no doubt that, since they blew up the other bases and couldn't very well go through the void of space to look for body parts, there were likely no people onboard the other bases, and probably only had these many people on the base because they needed them there.

And what they needed them for indeed.

There were numerous recording devices scattered everywhere. From internal recording devices to slipspace signature recorders to a slipspace capsule launcher, doubtlessly sending whatever information they collected to their masters. The launcher was wrecked, there was no way of following the capsule, and the sheer comprehensiveness of the analysis led him to only one conclusion.

They had decided to record the tactics, operational procedures, weaponry, and force allocation and send it to a secure location for analysis. The Federation hadn't waged open war on humans for several decades, and the leaps and bounds in their technology was undoubtedly a useful boon to the Federation. It would allow them to more safely counter Federation attacks and figure out a way to counter them effectively. A much more significant victory than merely defending an untenable position. Indeed, the general who had organized this strategy was a genius.

Kap-Kap wobbled toward him at that point, breaking him from his thoughts as the Unggoy stood right next to him, and opened his hand to drop an object into the elite's waiting palm.

"Kap-Kap found this rock next to big chair over there." the Unggoy said, motioning his head towards the command chair in the middle of the room. "Does big, sneaky Sanghelli know what it mean?"

Hdij looked at the piece of rock and, after a few moments, began to chuckle. Kap-Kap looked on curiously before moving onwards with the investigation of the strange command center. The Sanghelli were a strange species, and finding a piece of material funny was, perhaps, there version of Unggoy entertainment. Like watching 'Just for tatawa' every night.

Kap-Kap heard the human scream before he saw him and turned his plasma pistol on him. The human was badly burnt, holding what looked like an LA BMR while charging towards the commander, screaming madly. The human's weapon coughed out a lot of bullets, each hitting his commander on roughly the same spot, namely his torso and head.

Fibrimee for his part activated his energy sword, dropping the piece of metal on his left and pulling out his plasma pistol so fast it was a blur of color and began to fire rapidly at the human. Kap-Kap began to belatedly fire his weapon as well, but was quickly interrupted by his commander's orders.

"NO! The human is mine! No one is to touch him!" Kap Kap, despite himself, snorted and put his weapon to rest. Stupid Sanghelli and their honor codes. Still, he obeyed him without question.

The human managed to dodge most of the green balls of energy but several hit him in his arms and legs and the human screamed. Kap-Kap winced, knowing that the plasma weapon would have likely made third degree burns right into his bone marrow. Still, the human was doing good as well. He didn't allow Fibrimee to recharge his energy shield, and kept firing and firing until he was a meter away from the Sanghelli when his shields broke.

What happened next ended the battle with as much honor as the Sanghelli would have liked. Fibrimee actually threw his energy sword at the human, at about the same time the human fired a three round burst that tore Hdij's chest apart, separated his head from his shoulders, and blew his head into multiple pieces of bone and gore. The human had a grin of absolute satisfaction on his face before the energy sword cut him in half and his bisected body fell to the floor, a scream of pain marking the fall before it too was cut off by a gurgle of blood.

Kap-Kap looked at the dead bodies for over five seconds before operational procedures began to scream at him to do something. He was, after all, the second in command. "All right pupae!" he yelled out in a high pitched voice "We take everything we've recorded and we get out of here! We need to tell high command what happened here!"

To his credit, the team only hesitated for a second before they began moving. Kap-Kap began to waddle towards his commander and, with a mutter of how idiotic he was, activated the self destruct option on his suit. He turned to the human and was surprised that the human was still moving around, and was making weird choking noises.

Kap-Kap hit himself for his stupidity. Energy blades cauterize wounds, and being cut in half would only mean that the upper body was still, for the moment, still alive. He waddled towards the human and prodded him with his plasma pistol. "Hey, still alive?"

The human didn't respond to him, and Kap-Kap wondered why until he saw the red fluid coming from his mouth. Curious, he opened the mouth and found that the human's tongue was bitten off, possibly when Fibrimee had hurled the sword, and he had choked to death. His movements were him drowning on his own blood.

Kap-Kap sighed and fired his plasma pistol into the human's skull. He had faced a Sanghelli Elite and lived after all, he deserved some measure of mercy. He turned to Fibrimee then, and contemplated on what to do with the piece of metal that his commander had been so proud of. Eventually his team interrupted his musings and told him that they were ready to teleport out.

Kap-Kap sighed and left the piece of metal with the Sanghelli. Fibrimee had been happy with the piece of metal thing anyway, so it didn't hurt to just leave it with him. After all, Kap-Kap thought as he left the piece of coal behind, what would it matter? It's not like it's going to hurt or anything.

* * *

**Federation Military Doctrine**

One thing to understand about the doctrine of the Federation is that, despite their own advances in technology and it's accompanying advantages, their military was still largely based of the Covenant's own doctrine. This could be considered as an unwillingness to change, as the heir to an religious/military government that had survived for millennia would have severe issues with the concept of change. Indeed, it is partly the truth. The more practical reason though is that despite the fall of the Covenant, their doctrines remain as effective as before, if not more so, and any weaknesses in them justified by it's overwhelming advantages.

The first would be that, for all intents and purposes, the federation had a constant military presence on all Federation held worlds and systems. Every homeworld and colony had a defensive array of at least six defense platforms that would constantly orbit the planet in random orbits. Every system had a system base that could coordinate all defensive forces in the entire system, had firepower equivalent to a Federation battle group, and had a battlegroup of at least 10 ships. This would insure that assaulting a Federation held system with conventional forces would likely kill the attackers in question. Nearly every federation system and planet was far more heavily defended that it's UNSC counterpart, except for the Sol System, Reach, and most Primary Defense Systems (which was where the Fleets were stationed in case a rapid response was necessary.)

Compared to the more pragmatic defense of the UNSC, the Federation adopts a simple strategy of defending an assaulted planet by throwing more force at the opposing enemy than the enemy could. Due to their own level of technology, such a defense is arguably more effective than the UNSC's own. Force allocation would depend upon the judgement of the system base commander, with a constant emergency response force nearby. In addition to this, there would be numerous fleets and battlegroups that will make standard patrol visits to every planet, ensuring that any system can expect a fleet or strike force every seven days. Evacuations would only occur under extreme circumstances.

This was a remnant from the Covenant's own military being on every homeworld and planet. The San 'Shyuum didn't trust the other races and ultimately saw them merely as tools. In their view of the universe, a broken tool was useless. Each and every platform orbiting every world would have, once long ago, been there to insure their good behavior. If that was impossible, then the Prophets were more than willing to burn the planet to it's core to insure that the rest would follow. Technically, they still could, but nothing less than a flood outbreak could ever convince the sanghelli to glass a world ever again.

The second thing to consider would be their fleets. Federation military production was, for the most part, inferior to the UNSC. Not because they lacked materials or the technology to do so, but because their ships were far more advanced than the UNSC. Technically, the closest thing the UNSC had to fed ships would be the Obelisks, the Monoliths and Supercarriers incapable of being mass produced like the Obelisk was. As such, despite the smaller size of their fleets and the advances the UNSC had made over the past few decades, a war between the UNSC and the Federation, barring the use of superweapons, would result in the Federation having a technological advantage over their human counterparts.

This was an important factor for the UNSC taking the Halo Array as quickly as they had. They knew that without a significant force on their side, they would inevitably lose any battle with the Covenant species. But that is ultimately irrelevant to the discussion, and is useful only as a reference point.

There are eleven Grand Fleets in the Federation, each subdivided into smaller fleets and strike forces and battlegroups. Of the eleven, six are the respective Fleets for the races of the Federation, insuring that they would all have military power, and serving as a symbolic meaning that they all belonged to the Federation. Each fleet is largely independent from each other, and only really responded to the commands of their own respective species government. The Grand Fleet of Loyalty Unbound fir example, would only obey the Unggoy Government. The Grand Fleet of Riches Unending, would only ever obey the Kig Yar government, and so on and so forth. They were largely used to patrol their respective species' territories and deal with any internal conflicts they may have, and the only time the Federation could command them is in the event of total war. There are, however, Grand Fleets acting within the Federation that obeyed the Senate of Allied Species and no one else, five in fact.

The most active of them all is the Grand Fleet of Hidden Seas, the advanced scouting fleet of the federation. They push the boundaries on known territory, reclaim colonies lost from the Pacification War, and protect colony ships from raiders. As a result of their mission, the Grand Fleet is spread throughout the galaxy in due to the large amount of reclamation operations occurring. Due to their effort, they managed to reclaim over 89% of all lost territory, and have claimed a near 100% successful defense rate in protection of their colonies. The members of this fleet are very obnoxious about this achievement, much to the ire of nearly everyone else.

In contrast, the least active of them all is the Grand Fleet of Victory Regained, the rapid response force of the Federation. Like the Hidden Seas, Victory Regained was spread throughout he galaxies in tactical bases throughout the galaxy in case an emergency response was needed anywhere. However, considering that the UNSC never had any intention of attacking, while the Federation suspected that shored war would occur in the next few years, Victory Regained would develop the military equivalent of a pair of blue balls. When the Federation brought down it's alert level when it was increasingly obvious that the UNSC would not attack, Victory Regained wold have no real purpose anymore. While hope would spring forth when the insurrection destroyed New Babel, the insurrection went through vast lengths NOT to attack the Federation, thus contribution to what may be the bluest of all balls in the entirety of military history.

Another is the Grand Fleet of the Federation, much larger than the other Grand Fleets by a significant margin, and loyal only to the Federation. The current one was the Grand Fleet of Tactical Consideration, the fleet having been given it's new title when it's master became the Imperial Admiral of the Federation. In any case, Tactical Consideration's would have a large variety of purposes, and is basically the strong arm of the Federation. They were deployed when diplomacy is no longer enough.

When brute force was not an option, the Grand Fleet of the Blackened Planet is the best alternative. Despite the Imperial Admiral's own relative practicality in space battles, there were still tactics and acts that he would not do, or even think to contemplate. When that happened, the Federation's Special Operations Grand Fleet is called for, though the current government is reluctant to do so. Hence the adoption of title Blackened Planet, otherwise known as Doisac, as a name to be feared.

The last was the Jirilhanae:Kig-Yar:Yanme'e Observation-Policing Fleet. It was largely defunct now, as each of the respective former loyalist species had their own fleets by 2617, but decades ago it kept the peace within all of their territory and insured the Jirilhanae's good behavior. Not that the Jirilhanae were any good now, but the Sanghelli decided the restrictionwas useless considering how they bypassed their fleet restrictions, and granting them the right to raise a Grand Fleet would possibly make their politicians let up on their constant demands, which it did, at least for a while. Nonetheless, the fleet was still intact in case the need for extra force was ever required and also in case their former wards ever became uppity and needed a reminder as to who was boss, more or less.

All of these fleets would, in terms of numbers, be inferior to their UNSC counterpart. A standard Federation Fleet would be numerically equivalent to a UNSC Battle Group, with a UNSC Fleet equivalent to a Federation Grand Fleet. Of course, if such an event were ever to occur, both sides having the same number of forces righting each other, then the UNSC would be defeated so hard it wouldn't even be funny. Barring the use of superweapons anyway.

Federation offensive stratagem is vastly different to the UNSC's. Basically, it relied on overwhelming firepower, a penchant for boarding enemy ships and installations, and the selective use of slipspace and stealth abilities to bypass a planet's orbital defended, much like what occurred during the Battle of Reach. As such, due to the fact that any attack by the Federation to any populated planet would almost always lead to the planet falling, ONI would nickname the Federation's formidable navy the Great Leviathan, while correspondingly calling their army the Six Marauders for the typical species diversity within their armed forces.

It should be noted that the Federation's own myriad collection of species and their own respective doctrines means that the Federation's own collective doctrine meant that it was a collection between the mindless charge of the Jirilhanae, the honorable pragmatism of the Sanghelli, the morally questionability of the Kig Yar, and the swarming tactics of the Yanme'e, as such, characterization of the Federation's tactics can only be given a rough classification of 'somewhere along those lines.' the previous paragraph is only the most commonly used tactics, and can only really be used as a baseline.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Really, it's hard to say what the Federation's own doctrines would be, for the reasons stated above. So really, that's the best I can do.

Benedict Irishman, for anyone curious, is the result if me randomly mashing into to keys of my iPhone to see what autocorrect would do. Okay yeah, the first name was supposed to be Bribe, but 'Bribe Irishman' seems even more needlessly racist than Benedict, not that t was racist in the first place, I think but- yeah nevermind.

Anywho, the Sound of Drums arc will begin soon, and it will, as said in my profile, get the story going properly now.


	16. Sound of Drums 1: Unknowns

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, can't be mine, never will be mine. Every franchise listed in this story is not mine, get it through your skull.

**Advanced Note:** From here, we leave the hallowed grounds of the Halo verse and push off into the sunset that is a full fledged SW-Halo war. However, as Ecomadness has said, it IS kinda slow. I apologize for this, and apologize again because this arc, despite being the first real clash between SW and Halo faction, will take at least six chapters to complete, but will involve damn near everything that's been stated already. However, to minimize the time needed to explain how exactly the Federation and UNSC gathered themselves for the war, well, that'll be explained in the extra notes. Mostly.

**Reluctantly Advanced Note:** I really, really planned of responding to your reviews through PM, but since that's problematic to me now, I'll just be responding here. Jarhead? The main reasons for the, presumably, more than average grammar errors is because I'm currently writing the story on my iPhone. The month where I was absent has, among other things, caused me to be unable to access my laptop for the interim. I'm currently writing the story on Notes, then emailing it to my email account, then finding a computer and using it to post from there.

Also, the -ee portion was retained as an honorary title for Sanghelli under the federation military, largely because the Sanghelli don't really like change, and decided to keep the suffix.

* * *

**May 12, 2617**  
**The Coral System**  
**9:26:34 PM; standardized world time**

The Coral System, as it was known to the UNSC, was an interesting anomaly.

Reclaimed a year after the rediscovery of Onyx, with terraformation attempts beginning days after the established end of the Pacification War, Coral was, as a environmental scientist once said, representative of the struggle of life so soon after the Covenant's glassing of the planet.

The planet had, nearly sixty five years ago, been rendered into a charred and melted rock. Huge swaths of once green earth had been reduced to deep gorges of blackened rock and winds of scattered ash. Cities were burnt to the ground, hundreds of buildings broken and empty from the firestorms the orbital plasma lances had ignited. After the Glassing of Coral, the world had become a wasteland.

A decade later, the UNSC would begin a long string of terraformation projects to rebuild the glassed human conies, collectively known as Project GREENLIGHT. Federation assistance was expected and given, though their attempts at assistance usually boiled down to transporting the necessary people and equipment to the ruined planets, protector inbound colonists and generally using up time and resources making up for their past mistakes.

(It should be noted that this era was roughly around the time that the UNSC Admiralty and the Director of ONI had battled each other on whether or not to proceed with Operation NAPOLEON, the operational name for the invasion of the Federation. GREENLIGHT was, at one point, taking up a quarter of all available Federation assets, and it would not be an unreasonable guess that GREENLIGHT was, partially, set to distract federation forces in the event of an invasion. Additionally, the predecessors of what would become the Eclipse Program also routinely made use of GREENLIGHT for their own methods and, as such, would have caused tremendous damage to the Federation fleets had the Admiralty chosen to attack the Federation.)

Nonetheless, by 2617, Coral was nearly back to it's pre-glassing form. Water had returned to the planet once again, and the overall water level was roughly equal to eighty percent of what it had once been. The ash had dissipated enough that it would no longer cause any significant health concerns to be walking on the planet without a breathing apparatus. Trees, grass and other forms of vegetation were growing again, and the biosphere had thickened enough that it had regained a shadow of it's former glory. The deep gorges of plasma fire were still there though, as were the concrete graveyards of dozens of cities that served as a constant reminder as to what had happened there. Which would be one of the reasons for the planet's defenses ridiculous amount of weaponry, at any rate.

34 Mrk. IV Orbital Defense Platforms, with over a hundred E-II ships in orbit and slaves to those platforms. Anti Space guns on every major settlement and every military base on the planet. Several million UNSC Marines permanently garrisoned on the planet to defend it from Federation Assault. Several thousand top of the line armored vehicles originating from the Titan Program all specifically designed to kick so much ass that the official description of anything coming out of the said program was 'Awesome'. The planet was so heavily fortified that some considered it a misallocation of resources, if not for the Federation threat outside.

The Federation threat outside, for those curious, were the Jirilhanae.

Made up of a collection of large asteroids armed to the teeth with a Federation Systems Base being orbited by said asteroids, it was the only remaining significant location in the system besides it's yellow sun.

The Coral System was one of the few Loyalist held systems that did not fall during the Pacification War; Not because of any military or tactical asset they may have owned, but due to diplomacy.

The Jirilhanae War Chieftian in charge of that sector was, perhaps alone in the entirety of the collapsing Covenant Hegemony, an unbeliever. Well, rather he did not believe the lies of the Hierarchs, but saw the futility of fighting them. When word reached him of Truth's mad assault against Earth, he and his pack remained. When Truth fell and the Pacification War began, he was careful in using his forces to ensure an area of neutrality. When Doisac was destroyed, he immediately made peace with the Arbiter, and established the Coral System as his domain, allowing only Coral itself to be given to the UNSC because, in all truthfulness, it WAS theirs. Though, in all truthfulness, it was merely a formality. They had allowed the UNSC's 'transgressions' into their territory and created increasingly preposterous excuses to their superiors for why the humans weren't dead yet.

Nonetheless, the actions of the clan of Malachim ensured that the system was Jirilhanae for as long as the Federation existed. Most of the asteroids were living environment for Malachim and his clan. It was the fourth most heavily defended system in Jirilhanae space, the shipyards of Doisac, the Jirilhanae home system, and the Jirilhanae embassy in Sanghellios being the only ones more defended than it. A group of 7 Federation class Battlecruisers were constantly in the system, along with one Carrier and a group of boarding yachts numbering a few dozen.

Due to these circumstances, as well as other clandestine ones, ONI considered the Coral situation to require a more, personal, touch. 

* * *

**May 12, 2617**  
**Coral System**  
**Mark IV Orbital Defense Platform 'Iron'**  
**9:28:43 PM**

Captain Jonathan Mirandez, despite the stigma associated with being an ONI Agent and thus 'a pompous ass', was a pretty swell guy.

He, like most competent ONI Agents, were given command of high risk situations which could lead to unnecessary conflicts, as his superiors would say, to insure that the situation would not lead to chaos and anarchy, whatever it was. As such, he had been attached to the 12th Systems Defense Force, a splinter force of the Fifth Fleet, to oversee the defense of Coral and resources considered vital to the stability and security of the UNSC. He had been given the position and authorization to insure the safety of Coral no matter the cost, and had been left to his own devices. That had been nearly 40 years ago.

His was quite aware that, despite the importance of his position, that he was in a dead end job. No opportunities for promotion, no opportunities for action, merely being told to hold position and wait. Still, he didn't really mind. He was different from the vast majority of ONI Operatives that he had about as much ambition as a pile of wet rags had...dry rags. He wasn't very good with metaphors either, another mark against him being an ONI Agent, but the point remains, he wasn't like the other agents, and he reveled in it, just a bit.

ONI Agents were typically respected and despised, they were typically honorless, conniving, power-hungry bastards. He strived to be the complete opposite of that, laid back, unambitious, amiable and all that jazz. He had no desire to go and climb the ranks of either ONI or the UNSC, no desire to gather political power, no desire to follow any blasted ideology, and definitely no desire to obey either the Admiralty or Lecter. So he stayed there, content in his poison as the Warden of Coral, and that was that. Allowed to read and write on his ODP, allowed to cruise amongst stars as he accompanied patrols, allowed to do anything he liked as long as peace was maintained on Coral, which he did.

Of course there were inevitably occurrences where ONI would interfere in his affairs. There was an ONI base on Coral that he had no authority over, and which he was liable to be shot over if he interfered in whatever they were doing over there. That was fine, as long as they didn't ask anything of him, he wouldn't interfere in their little science project. They never did either, the only thing they asked for was for him to make sure no civilians found their way there. That was easy enough, whatever they were working on the northern pole anyway, so diverting civilian attention from that place was easy enough.

There was one incident however, that had him embroiled in ONI's affairs. A prowler had suddenly appeared between the patrol lanes of both his forces and elements of both the Malachim Tribe and a Federation battle group. In any case, he'd been forced to capture it, tell everyone to shut up, and tell HIGHCOM that an unknown prowler had appeared on his desk and what he had to do. Minutes later, a damn Necropolis Battle Group appeared, and there was the glorious leader of ONI.

He didn't know what had happened to that prowler, and he didn't WANT to know. Interfering in Lecter's business was idiotic, and if he noticed that the rapid militarization of the UNSC's and Federation's assets, as well as their own increased technological leaps and bounds, then he didn't tell it to anyone else. After all, he wasn't an idiot.

It was at this point that Iron's sensor array bleeped multiple times, dozens of times in fact, while numerous red contacts appeared on screen. Unknown contacts, by the look of the identifiers that appeared right next to them. Not a single one was a UNSC vessel, either Echelon, or Archangel or civilian, nor were any of them Federation either. He would have sighed sadly, as this didn't bode well for his 'try to live with as little action as possible', but he didn't. Dozens of unknown contacts suddenly appearing nearby a populated human world with no prior warning whatsoever, with unknown capabilities and cause of being there stank too much of the beginnings of the Great War to his liking. He was after all, despite him almost not really being one, an ONI Agent after all.

"Unknown vessels, identify yourselves." the sound of his subordinates began, standard procedures for such a situation required them to deal with the interlopers with words first, then gunfire. "Failure to do so will result in the capture of you and your vessels. I repeat, unknown vessels, identify..." Mirandez started to ignore the sounds of the his communications officer, and focused on his console.

ONI skirted a fine line between doing what was necessary, and being monsters. After the fall of their previous leader and his inner circle, Director Light pushed for giving the Office far more control than they ever had in their entire lives. This was only continued by his successor, whose obsessive desire to have ears everywhere had resulted in the little violation of a human being's rights since the Spartan II Program.

ONI had bugged every ship ever to leave any UNSC controlled shipyard, every vehicle with even the potential of being used in a war, and placed extensive bugs in nearly all major population centers. It wasn't that hard, electronic bugs were perfected centuries ago and were relatively cheap to mass produce, and the only real reason they had never done this before was because the UNSC never had the will to do so. The Great War changed that.

As the planetary representative of ONI on the planet, he had access to every recording device on the planet. Any ship that went into the Coral system was under the direct surveillance of Mirandez and the Office. This had been going on for decades, and the system was relatively fullproof. So when he got nothing out of the ships, not even any indication that the ships ever had any kinds of bugs placed on them, he grew concerned.

If there weren't any recording devices on the ships, that meant it was either Federation or, however unlikely, insurrectionist. On the other hand, they didn't even know what kind of class those ships were, and unknown ships with unknown reasons for being a planet was awfully reminiscent of...

He came to a split decision. "Tell all ODPs with direct line of sight to arm all MAC rounds and to establish a target lock on those ships. Afterwards, tell them to standby and wait for orders."

The communications officer looked at him strangely. "Sir, could you repeat that?"

Mirandez resisted the urge to smack her upside the head. "Those ships are neither UNSC or Federation. We have nothing on them. They appeared with totally different FTL signatures, completely unknown ship classifications, and are refusing to answer us. We will not take any chances lieutenant, now transmit the orders and tell them to wait for my command. Alert all slaved ships to warp into containment and termination position around the ships as well. Also, tell the ODPs with no line of sight to arm their rounds as well, but to hold fire unless absolutely necessary. Understood?"

She nodded reluctantly, and began to transmit orders as Mirandez moved towards another, equally clandestine, console and began to transmit several communiques in rapid succession.

The first was to the nearest SI Center, which apparently, was SI-12, Legion. He told them that there was a possible hostile scenario occurring within the Coral System and that he required assistance. The second was to request assistance from all nearby UNSC fleet elements on an emergency channel. The third and final was to send an unmarked information packet to the stated coordinates, as he was instructed to whenever an unknown force was to ever come into the system. He didn't bother sending a message to his family, they'd understand without the need for sappy words. He was never very good with them anyway.

He had just finished sending those messages when a klaxon began screaming, and the sensor operator began screaming something. Almost immediately, several underlying override systems within the ODP, installed in case such an event were to happen, triggered. It fired all six fully charged MAC rounds towards the detected energy signals, as did seventeen of it's brothers. Mirandez looked up and looked at the holographic projectors before a flash of red light rocked the station.

Every person on the bridge saw as the blood red plasma bolts impacted the light blue energy shield around 'Iron'. They watched in shock as several more blasts of the strange red plasma took down the first layer, and as Mirandez began to shout for them to begin the second barrage, a third burst of plasma fire broke the shields. He felt rather than saw a soft blue light appear around the bridge.

Iron was obliterated seconds later.

* * *

Current Orbital Defense Platform variants existed in 4 forms. The first would be those used during the Great War. The second would be the one used nearly three decades ago in the battle of New Babel, obsolete even by those standards, hence the slipspace inhibitor upgrades that never came. The third variant is merely an upgraded form of the second, with slipspace inhibitors, upgraded energy reactors and other more minor upgrades. It was said that a variant had the capability of throwing 4 MAC rounds ,capable of pulverizing Supercarriers through sheer kinetic energy alone the rumor mill said, every fifteen seconds. Along with the ability of negating a ship's ability to come close, as well as energy shielding comparable to a battlecruiser, meant that a single ODP was a terrible foe to fight against.

The variant had all of these, and far more. Their Super MAC guns were capable of firing at a markedly Increased rate of 40,000 kilometers a second, 2 times faster than it's variant and capable of firing 6 rounds before requiring a cooldown time of 10 seconds before being able to fire again. They had energy shields capable of reflecting a battlecruiser class plasma lance for several seconds, and could recharge itself ten seconds fate the shields should fall.

It is important to note that Orbital Defense Platforms never really had a so called 'maximum range', since the vacuum of space meant that the kinetic energy of a MAC projectile wouldn't be stopped by friction, thus meaning the projectile will never stop. As such, if one calculated for travel time of the MAC round, the travel trajectory of the opposing ship, and the assumption that the opposing ship wouldn't notice a kinetic round about to hit it, then a MAC round could theoretically hit anything. The only problem being that the enemy could see it coming, and could move accordingly.

As such, the 'maximum range', of an Orbital Defense Platform is dependent entirely upon one factor and one factor only, the speed in which the opposing ship can dodge the projectile. Most ships can do a microjump out of the way sure, but in all likeliness it won't be able to make another jump before it gets skewered. The slipspace inhibitor field means that no ship can close the distance and destroy it from point blank range, and the field has a range of several thousand kilometers, the maximum range being at fifteen thousand kilometers. Since a round goes at 40,000 kilometers, there is really no way that they can get out of the way in time. Thus, the effectiveness of the ODP.

What was never considered, mainly because neither the UNSC and Federation currently have the technology to do so, is that an opponent's weaponry might have ranges in the hundreds of thousands of kilometers, in this case, 650,000 kilometers. The UNSC and the Covenant had been engaging in, considering the scale of the galaxy, virtual knife fights with each other. For the Covenant, they never had a reason to amplify their technology, since most species would easily fall to their technological might. For the UNSC, they simply never had the time or opportunity to do so.

So while the UNSC's only real long range weapon was the MAC gun, it was still, basically, an asteroid being fired at ridiculous distances. Additionally, it could be dodged. Considering the Federation's own plasma lance technology, standard UNSC ship doctrine was to warp in the middle of their fleet and unleash unholy kinetic hell. So far, this had been working far more than it should logically have any right to.

Nome of this was possible when the enemy had warped unannounced, at ranges Federation ships typically wouldn't fire in, with weapons never before seen in any engagement EVER.

There were 60 contacts, all at extreme distances, with unknown dodging capability, with a rough force arrangement of three ships firing long volleys of unknown plasma based weaponry at a single ODP, with one ship firing at a single ship. They had all aimed at one side of a planet, effectively wiping out a planet's defense in half, and insuring that as long as they don't go to the other side, then it was perfectly safe for them to do whatever they wanted. It would also take some time for the unknown energy weapons to reach the ODPs, enough time for them to open fire in return, but not enough to save them from their fate.

Each ship had fired two volleys of plasma fire, three seconds apart, with three ships focusing on one ODP, roughly six volleys per target, and two volleys for the Echelon-II ships around the planet. The first volley would strain the ODPs' first layer of energy shields to the absolute maximum, the second would overwhelm the first energy shield and batter the second, the third volley would rip apart the shield and the fourth, fifth and sixth volleys would rip the station apart. In less than 10 seconds, the entirety of a planet's orbital defenses were wiped out in an instant.

The echelon ships would be a more problematic scenario. Most of them would enter slipspace and appear right in front of thee opposing ships, opening fire on their opponents with all of their weapons. They would challenge their opponent's shields to their breaking point, performing admirably for being both outgunned and outnumbered, but with the destruction of all of their control centers on each respective ODP, they would lose coherency and be vulnerable to enemy fire. The unknown ships would take advantage of this weakness, and would tear the echelon ships into metal confetti.

The ODPs return fire was monstrous. Eighteen ODPs firing six rounds going at 40,000 kilometers a second. The shockwave from all those guns firing at once could be felt and heard all around the planet, and made it abundantly clear to the planet that it was under attack. Despite the relatively loose formation the unknown ships were in, the sheer volume of a 108 Super MAC round volley insured that not being hit was the dream of a madman. Especially considering that the UNSC ships were harrying them and insuring that they wouldn't be able to dodge properly.

Those onboard the ships still decided to try to perform evasive maneuvers, but curiously, didn't use their FTL technology to perform microjumps to save them from their situations. The ships in the outer perimeter of their formation managed to make it out easily enough, but those within the formation weren't able to escape the MAC rounds lane of fire.

Their energy shields managed to weather one Super MAC round before they failed, an impressive achievement if not for the fact that the sheer kinetic energy from the round caused mild to catastrophic damage within the ship, damaging important equipment within the ship as well, like the energy shield projectors and weapon systems. Additionally, the round would fragment at he collision, spiraling outwards and hitting other ships, including the one it had originally been aimed to hit at. The fragments would bite into the ships, leaving dozens of meters long gashes on the ship's skin and damaging countless amounts of internal circuitry. Nonetheless, the ships that had gotten themselves hit didn't have to worry about that, since the next few shots would rip their ships to the equivalent of metal jello. Additionally, most of the UNSC ships would be destroyed by this barrage, as they did not have the coherency to move out of the way like they were supposed to.

All in all, over 22 ships were destroyed, with 10 suffering varying degrees of minor to significant damage. Once the barrage stopped however, all the survivors executed FTL jumps as close to the planet as they could, the closest group of ships being 1250 kilometers away from orbit of the planet. This group, which was coincidentally the same ones damaged from the barrage, approached orbit and begin disgorging dropships, as well as selectively bombarding civilian and military targets on the ground. The remaining ships stayed several thousand kilometers away, and destroyed any ODP that tried to change it's orbit to counter the unknown threat. Additionally, the slaved Echelon ships wouldn't go out to challenge the enemy. In the few seconds of coherent battle with the enemy, the echelon ships sent did not have the capability of overpowering the enemy shields without concentrated fire, and the remaining survivors though it best to wait for reinforcements and make their presence known then.

The end result was that half of the planet was bombarded by ten dreadnoughts with both unknown objectives and unknown weapons capability. Dozens of unknown dropships were sent into numerous targets, both military and civilian, with an unknown composition of troops as well as how effective they would be. The planet's orbital defense was more or less broken, with only half of the planet still possessing the capability of fighting back and utterly unwilling and incapable of protecting the other half without more intelligence.

All this from a defensive stratagem designed to wipe out hundreds of alien ships from the most technologically advanced species humanity has ever seen. Against the most brutal species humanity had ever seen. Understandably, those that remained on the planet were scared out of their minds.

* * *

**May 12, 2617**  
**Coral; New Warsaw**  
**9:32:23 PM**

The opening blows of what would be called the Battle of Coral would be more similar to a slaughter than an actual battle. Orbital supremacy meant that whatever resistance the ground could have was ultimately futile. Missile batteries and Gauss cannons were shortly destroyed by precision strikes from either the ships in orbit or the numerous fighters sent with the dropships. Military bases were divided between two classifications, burnt to the ground, or too well hidden to have been found by the enemy's sensors. Selective bombing of civilian sites cleared what were obviously landing strips, and around those tiny pieces of land was battle of Coral fought on.

In New Warsaw, the main capital of the planet, the most brutal of these battles were fought. The city had proudly held dozens of skyscrapers, more than half of them burnt to rubble now. The rough equivalent of the city's 'suburbs' had been brutally massacred as well, strafing runs by the strange starfighters ravaging and killing whatever, and whoever, they could find. The downtown parts of New Warsaw were even worse, several buildings having simply toppled and blocked important roads that would have allowed civilians to escape, as well as allow UNSC forces to respond on the ground faster. Thousands of people were already dead, the starfighters indiscriminately slaughtering both military and civilian targets. UNSC air superiority was negated when missiles from the fighters burned all open field airfields and slaughtered anything already in the air, which was nothing really. Dark red smoke filled the air, the result of burning buildings, orbital bombardment and the setting of the sun. Numerous lumbering carrier like ships were already approaching several clear spots on the city, no doubt looking to deposit their troops onto the ground and make reclaiming the city without leveling it to the ground damn near impossible.

Armored divisions had yet to be mobilized, and the nearest ODST squad was on the other side of the planet and in orbit, ready to protect that side of the planet as required. Marines were sent to fortify areas of vital interest to the UNSC, military or otherwise. The vast majority of the combat drones were now being mobilized by Commander AIs and moved into defensive positions around the city. They would not be sufficient to resist the full blown invasion that was most obviously occurring, but it would slow it down somewhat. Several drones though, would be sent to investigate the landing zones that the orbiting ships had created, and to relay strategic information to their handlers once something of interest had been discovered. It was at this point that the 'Sight-class' Recon Drone HRI-9372, affectionally known as Hrin to her minders, would sneak over to one of those landing sites to spy on what was going on there.

The 'Sight-class' was basically a stripped down, yet pimped out, sentinel class drone. It did not have any weapons system worth more than ramming someone, and it did not have near the hardware necessary for it to be smart. However, it was suited with multiple high range visual upgrades, as well as a state of the art camouflage system that hid it from anything that could see through any spectrum of light. This allowed it to go deep into enemy lines, where only few marines were still alive.

The dark red smog of the city blocked out whatever could be seen from the attackers. Most of the fighters used the red smog to mask their approach, wiping out most of the defenses and then accompanying the large, clumsy form of their carriers. Hrin chose to put herself into a hidden alcove on a partially destroyed building. The building itself was only several hundred meters from the carrier, making it easy for her to record the landing.

It was large, much larger than the most Pelican configurations, and obviously built for transporting troops and armor. Most of the resistance in the landing zone was put down by a combination of plasma fire and missiles, though the occasional directed energy weapon, LA fire or missile hit the transport, to little effect. The LA projectiles would either embed themselves a few centimeters deep into the strange metal, or be repulsed entirely. Directed energy weapons would be capable of melting the hull for meters around and inside it, and the missiles would actually blow the hull into little dull pieces, but the transport suffered no permanent damage and smoothly landed on the crushed concrete and broken glass. The fog from the recent bombardment didn't give her a clear view, but she could clearly hear a dull 'thunk' and the sudden sound of marching.

The figures marched out of the ship, perfectly synchronized to the second. Scattered LA fire resulted in the offending party being burnt to death by dozens of crimson plasma bolts. There were different versions of the figures. The first, and most numerous, was an almost skeleton like robotic figure coated with an almost rust-like tinge that would have passed for human if not for the shell lime skull on what would have been a skull and the strange weapon in their hands that spat out crimson bolts of death. The second figure was larger than the first, gleaming a metallic white-blue, and firing plasma bolts from a blaster on it's wrist. Those were considerably more dangerous, and far more effort was required to bring it down, but not nearly as much as the third version. That version came rolling out of the ramp and scatters themselves around the battlefield. They would stop at times, placing themselves in freon of marine entrenchments, reconfigure to an almost insect like state, then spit death and destruction to everything they could find. Most small arms were useless against it, and only highly rated anti tank lasers or antiarmor missiles could pierce through the blue shield it had around itself. Hrin watched it all in silence.

Though no one on that battlefield knew it yet, the First Intergalactic War, something both the Federation and UNSC had been desperately preparing themselves for, had begun.

* * *

**Special Operations Legion 'Unity of Purpose'**

In the year 2584, the UNSC, under the advisement of the Office of Naval Intelligence, authorized the creation of the Spartan-IV Program. Beyond the standard operational procedures and upgrades to the original biological alterations, a deal was struck between the Federation and the UNSC. In it, the UNSC would have access to the best of several hundred Sanghelli recruits for their Spartan IV program. On the other hand, the Federation would have access to several hundred of the UNSC's best human recruits for their Elite Legions.

Their training was curiously brutal, and some have speculated that the training regiment, far more extreme than those of standard Elite training courses, was a response towards the Spartan program. Or as a rather blunt Candid once said, "They're all proud, insecure little shark heads who couldn't stand the thought that humans were better than them in anything resembling warfare." Predictably, the Federation Admiralty has denied any accusations of mean spiritedness towards the Spartans. This has not stopped the rumors, at any rate.

By the time their training ended on 2604, over two hundred legionaries had been successfully trained. They were spread across different fields and cycled amongst each position once a year. By 2610, all of them were well rounded in terms of combat and tactical ability, and were paired together with two hundred of the best Sanghelli alive. Thus, was the 'Unity of Purpose, born. They would specialize in clandestine

The Legion was sent to numerous Federation hotspots across the galaxy, dealing with warlords and terrorists as quickly as possible. At one time, their skill in stealth labeled them the 'Shadow of the Federation', and the mere mention of their name would be sufficient reason to send any would be crime lord or enterprising terrorist running into the darkness of space.

It is currently unknown where the Federation has deployed the individual elements of 'Unity of Purpose' after July 12, 2617. However, it is known that at least 85% of the legion was sent with the Grand Fleets in Operation BERMUDA when the combined Fleets left the galaxy. 


	17. Sound of Drums 2: The Beast

**Disclaimer: **Every franchise listed has nothing to do with me. At all. I was not George Lucas' grandfather, nor do I own 2K, nor 343 Industries, though whatever deity is up there knows I wished I do.

**Advanced Note:** All right people, just calm down. I know the 650,000 km range is somewhat ridiculous. The Providence class dreadnoughts don't even HAVE standard shielding, and them resisting a Super MAC isn't something EVERY ship can do. There are, frankly, extenuating circumstances towards the invasion. Things that are not right. They may not be explained today, or tomorrow, or next month, but they will be explained. Okay? Okay. Now just relax, and enjoy the show.

**Advanced Advanced Note: **This is shorter because, really, there/s not much to talk about here. Maybe I SHOULD have put this with the first chapter, but hey, the Brutes deserve their own chapter right?

* * *

**May 12, 2617  
Parthenon-class Supercarrier 'Last Resort''  
9:47:24 PM, 21 minutes after the beginning of the Battle of Coral.**

The room was filled with a nervous kind of energy as small managerial drones flitted into, around and out of Last Resort's command and control center. News of the assault on Coral by unknown contacts had arrived 20 minutes ago, and despite the speed of the initial transmission, things had been silent space-wise besides the orbital defenses on the other side of the planet. Significant resistance was present on nearly every battlefield the marines found themselves in though, and there was not a little amount of data from those battles available. The Federation's response to the attack was still unknown.

The main door to the room opened, and two figures entered the room. One was a fairly average looking man, roughly 5'10 wearing a military style haircut and a standard ONI uniform with black eyes that showed the slightest bit of irritation behind an observant face. The other figure was vastly different in the fact that it wasn't even human, as a sentinel drone with a illumination bulb glowing violet instead of the customary blue.

The entire room quickly grew quiet as each person noticed the man's presence in the room. The man moved with a quick, but careful, pace and as he approached the holographic projector and eyed the status reports from multiple units in the field, he frowned slightly. The purple eyed drone behind him slowly lowered it's acceleration rate and quietly hovered behind him.

Another man, his white uniform and medals on his chest showing him to be an admiral, brought his hand up to his head in a crisp salute. "Director Lecter, we're glad you're here, the situation has gone out of control." he said in a voice that showed veery little of the fear he felt inside.

Vice Admiral Mark Anthony was, in his own way, a kind of a patriot. He has survived the Great War, served in one of the few frigates still active on Earth after the High Prophet of Truth had overwhelmed the fleet, and managed to not only survive, but had took over command of the frigate when his commanding officer died. He was one of the captains sent with Coleman to assist the Sanghelli, and was one of the most decorated navy personnel currently alive.

His experiences also made him on of the more xenophobic members of the Admiralty, and one of the few that would have pushed for full scale war against the Federation, If not for the man standing in front of him, which he eyed with some distaste. Normally, he would want to have anything to do with the enigmatic leader of ONI.

But the current situation called for extreme measures. Another hostile first contact scenario, half a planetary defense force wiped out with the other half incapable of doing anything, and an invasion force landing on Coral. It was the worst case scenario, Lecter had to be brought in.

The Director of ONI looked at the screen with some distaste, ignoring Anthony, something that irritated him immensely, as he softly muttered to himself. He spoke quietly, but clearly to the rest of the room. "Are there any UNSC Fleet assets planning on jumping into the Coral system to assist?"

One of the analysts, a pale faced girl undoubtedly frightened at the prospect of talking to the notoriously ruthless director, spoke up. "Elements of the Fifth Fleet are preparing to jump as we speak sir, they are merely waiting for authorization to do so."

"How many ships, and what kind?" Lecter said, still not tearing his eyes away from the display.

The girl shuffled datapads nervously as she searched for the files Lecter wanted. She eventually found them, though the few seconds it took her to do so managed to make her sweat profusely, and began speaking. "20 E-3 destroyers, 30 E-3 frigates, 20 Obelisks, and 25 Necropoli. Additionally, the Monolith-class Dreadnought 'I don't know, stop asking me' has been attached to the battlegroup. Your orders sir?" she said, tentatively looking at the Vice Admiral as he was the most senior UNSC officer in the entire room.

The Vice Admiral nodded with satisfaction. That would be more than enough to handle whatever was hitting Coral, more than enough. He thought Lecter agreed with his analysis too, and so began to speak. "Very well, send all nearby forces to assist in the defense of Cora-"

He found himself being curtly cut off by the Director as he spoke "No, tell them to standby and await further orders, they are not to interfere under any circumstances, transmit those orders to every outpost that received Coral's distress signal."

He found that he had blurted out his instinctive reply before his brain could do anything about it. "You can't do that Lecter!"

The man looked only slightly amused as he turned to him and asked "Why not Vice Admiral?"

He growled at him "Because innocent people are about to be bombarded by a hostile alien presence, one we have NO previous contact with! If the battle will be anything like the Great War, those people will have very little time left."

Lecter nodded at him "Yes, you're right at that. However, this is really not your concern."

Anthony's eyes widened as he loomed at the bastard in front of him "What?"

"In accordance with the Holland-Light Agreement, the Office of Naval Intelligence handles first contact scenarios admiral. Not the Navy, or the Army, us. While I appreciate you telling me this, and I really do, this has become an ONI operation now." Lecter said, speaking as though it were fact, which it was.

Anthony held his tongue and spoke quietly, knowing that saying anything else would cost him his hide. "What do you plan on doing about it then, sir?"

Lecter looked at him and inclined his head slightly, as though thanking him for his patience. "SI Centers Foundation and Daedalus, as well as a squad of five Monoliths, have been mobilized from Onyx and will be there within fifteen minutes. In addition, SI Center Legion was nearby when the distress call was sent, and should be there in a few minutes. Rest assured admiral, I have no intention of letting Coral die, but you do realize where Coral is don't you? The possible ramifications of sending a battle group there are immense. A strike force will be better for everyone involved."

Anthony was motionless for a moment before he nodded grudgingly. Coral was sharing a system with the Federation, specifically, the Jirilhanae. Any perceived assault from the UNSC might strike off a border war with that warlike species, which is not something they needed if another alien threat was present. The UNSC couldn't interfere, they didn't have the means or the political capital to do so. ONI could.

At times like these, he truly wondered if ONI was less a subordinate to the UNSC and more of a partner, if not it's commanding officer. Secret projects, entire fleets, a stranglehold on every human's way of life, for all intents and purposes, ONI was humanity.

And there was no way they acted alone, no way they gained that much power without allies. The only question now being, who were these allies?

God, he hated politics.

It was around this time that a communications officer spoke out to the room at large. "Sirs, we are receiving a communique from our surviving orbital forces on Coral, the Federation seems to be initiating a counter attack."

Anthony walked to the man and started to speak. "Could they record the battle for future reference? We'll need information on what these things are if we want to fight them."

The man nodded and turned back to his console as Anthony looked at Lecter. He seemed to be talking to that drone behind him, giving it commands or something along those lines. The drone seemed to nod, and he saw the purple bulb turn back to it's customary blue as the drone began to float back from whence it came.

Anthony decided that he really didn't want to know.

* * *

Coral was under siege.

10 dreadnoughts had disgorged millions of battle ready droids in an effort to take over key installations on the planet. Those same dreadnoughts were bombarding the planet below with crimson light, wiping out both cities and military bases indiscriminately. Surviving ground-to-space weapon emplacements were not sufficient to destroy the dreadnoughts, and were destroyed in turn should they try. The remaining dreadnoughts were several thousand kilometers away from the planet, destroying any defense platform that dared to move it's orbit to the battle zone and insuring that no UNSC ship would interfere with the battle. For all intents and purposes, half of the entire planet was vulnerable to the invading force. With the other half unwilling to do anything, Coral was at their mercy.

Of course, it would be stupid to assume that, when presented a fight, the Jirilhanae would do the rational thing and keep the hell away. Oh no, when the Jirilhanae saw the UNSC fail, they sent immediate regroup orders to the other ships to challenge the new invaders. Only a few ships had gathered by the time the enemy took notice.

8 of the dreadnoughts had broken off from the main group and had begun opening fire on the Jirilhanae's asteroid base. The outlying asteroids were equipped with both energy shields and long range weapon emplacements against potential opponents, but were ultimately useless against the dreadnoughts. Multiple long range volleys rammed themselves against their defenses and caused massive damage to the outlying asteroids, destroying several while damaging several more. The first volleys had forced the ships into retreat, funneling their forces at the back of the facility, to insure that the dreadnoughts wouldn't get a clear shot. For all intents and purposes, they had forced the proud Jirilhanae into hiding from their enemies. Predictably, the Jirilhanae were pissed.

2 Jirilhanae Battlecruisers, and half a dozen boarding cruisers were ready to take the fight to the dreadnoughts. They had already sent a distress signal to a nearby System Fleet, but they wouldn't arrive for a few more minutes. By that time, they'd have reduced the Malachim Tribe's base of operations to dust, and that could not be allowed. Besides, they 'dared' to strike against the Jirilhanae. They deserved nothing less but death for their actions. They warped from their current location behind the main asteroid and dumped themselves right into the middle of their formation with exceptional skill.

The dreadnoughts were, in UNSC vernacular, in a clusterfuck situation. Standard operating procedure for such an event was to get the HELL out of there as fast as your engines could carry you. The antagonists had the advantage, choosing the place to warp in, and the fact that the vast majority of the invading ship's 360 degree line of fire was filled with boatloads of targets meant that, whatever they're gonna do, as long as they were in that formation, they were in a horribly untenable position. The fact they didn't know they were in that much trouble merely made it worse.

This is made even worse because they were facing Jirilhanae Battlecruisers and their accompanying boarding cruisers. Jirilhanae Battlecruisers were among the most heavily armed and heavily defended ship variants ever created. Their plasma lances were roughly fifteen percent more powerful than their Sanghelli counterparts (roughly translating into cutting planetary mantle into Swiss cheese and piercing through the inner core of the planet) and shields capable of crashing onto a planet and surviving to lift off another day. Additionally, all Federation ships had active teleporter arrays. The danger in this speaks for itself.

The Battlecruisers began to let loose, throwing everything they had to the surrounding ships. Plasma lances, the battlecruiser's speciality, stabbed into their shields. Where the lances were alone, they would overwhelm the shields, but be unable to have enough energy to destroy the ship itself. This was quickly remedied by multiple lances. When there weren't enough lances available, mid to short range plasma weaponry would severely damage the dreadnoughts. Three of the dreadnoughts were destroyed, ripped apart by multiple lances and plasma based weaponry.

The dreadnoughts themselves did not adapt quickly enough to the unexpected arrival of ships in the middle of their formation, and had payed for it. On the other hand, the ship's fearsome plasma weaponry opened fire on the two Battlecruisers. The formidable power behind the turbolasers and superior numbers meant that the Battlecruisers were ripped apart and melted into little scraps of metal.

What was never considered was that three of the surviving dreadnoughts had lost their shields in the battle, and were now being boarded by several Jirilhanae Cruisers. The ships had crashed into the hangers, destroy anything already there, and disgorge wave after wave of Jirilhanae forces that would overwhelm the entire ship. Those whose shields were still intact merely found themselves swamped by teleported Jirilhanae that performed surgical strikes against the enemy. The end result was predictable.

* * *

**Providence-class Dreadnought 'Fury'**

B1 Combat Droids scurried around the bridge as they carried out their pre programmer orders. There were no organics on the bridge, there hadn't been for a very long time now. They worked on the computer consoles and control gauges, directing the turbolasers and other weaponry to fire on the Federation ships. B2 Super Combat Droids looked on impassively, their grey metal shell gleaming in the bridge's light, their arm in a resting position, ready to be used totally and without mercy. Droidekas were present as well, though they were only guarding the main door outside, they could enter the bridge to defend it in seconds.

A B1 Combat Droid was working on suppressing the heat overflow from the overworked and beyond capacity turbolasers when a pop of displaced air and a bright purple light above it distracted it. A second later, a squad of Jirilhanae Shock Troopers came down and squashed the droid into little metallic pieces.

For a split second, neither party moved. The Jirilhanae Squad, consisting of five Shock Troopers with a colorful variety of painful looking weaponry and matching power armor, were still gathering their wits and realizing that, instead of being dropped into the engine room as they were supposed to, they'd been mysteriously sent to the Bridge. The droids on the other hand, were trying to understand where in the robot hell the strange ape creatures came from, and if the club with spikes at the end were as painful as they looked.

If not for the fact that a nearby B1 droid panicked and fired a hasty shot at one of the Jirilhanae, which was blocked by his shields, and the brute's immediate reaction of firing a ten inch nail up the droid's skull, they might have continued to watch each other. As it was, all the B1 droids began firing (badly) at the Jirilhanae. The Brutes ducked behind cover and began firing their weapons at everything that moved, while one of their number began to swing a heavy hammer that destroyed everything in it's path with a combination of gravity manipulations, and a really strong Jirilhanae. The B2 Super Droids unlatched their safeties and began to concentrate fire on both the Jirilhanae under cover, and the one slaughtering everything in the bridge with a gravity hammer. To make matters more complicated, Droidekas began to seep into the bridge, hammering the Brutes' position with plasma fire.

A glowing blue object, which practically bled EM waves, was thrown in the air towards the largest group of Droidekas. Their shields glowed brilliantly white for a few moments until they locked onto the strange object interfering with their shields and blew it apart. This was roughly around the same time that the brutes threw several spiked grenades at them, which stuck to their shields and exploded, perforating a small squad of B1s that were close by, and deactivating the Droidekas' shields at the same time. Before they could retreat, the insect like droids were met with the sight of a metric ton of angry ape swinging a hammer bigger than he was at them. The gravity forces ripped the droids apart, and the Brute Chieftain howled at his victory. This was cut short by the concentrated fire of every remaining droid left on the bridge. The precise blaster bolts quickly overwhelmed the shields, and brought the chieftain down in a quivering mass of cooked flesh, but not before the ape had thrown the gravity hammer at the closest group of droids, a small squad of B2s, and destroyed them all as the hammer blew up.

The remaining brutes went wild. They blew out of cover, firing weapons that seemed specifically doctored around the concept of killing things gruesomely. Fist sized rounds of automatic explosives ripped apart the bridge as the droids were ripped apart by the explosions. Bladed weaponry appeared in the their hands as they effortlessly cleaved their way through the remaining B1 droids left, or merely tore them apart with their bare hands. Multiple grenades were thrown to the last group of Droidekas and super battle droids before a concentrated assault with grenade launchers finished the fight.

The Jirilhanae didn't stop moving. The most senior one, with only a bark towards a lesser one claiming his prize, took the chieftain's helmet from his dead body and placed it on his head. He grunted in satisfaction as his power armor turned gold to signify his new rank, and the Brutes went off to find more things to kill.

This scene would appear in the five other ships the Jirilhanae had hijacked themselves into. The droids were utterly unprepared for the ruthlessness and cruelty of the Jirilhanae, as well as the fact that they were willing to fight the droids in hand to hand combat with primitive looking, but deceptively deadly, blades. So it was that the Brutes, and by extension the Federation, were the first to capture alien technology not descendant from the Forerunners.

Though the Hugaroks said, rather sadly, that there was hardly anything left to go through by the time the brutes were done.

The destruction or capture, mostly capture, of eight dreadnoughts was a considerable threat to the invaders. Allowing them to retain control over them was completely and utterly unacceptable. This was not a conscious thought by their commander, but rather a preprogrammed directive spliced into their systems. The directive howled and yelled at the droids, forcing them to appease the directive by eliminating what was required. So half of the force suppressing Coral's remaining orbital defenses turned their turbolasers towards the captured dreadnoughts and opened fire. It was a free for all, with no real concentrated assault like their opening blow was, but it was sufficient to tongue trick. The droids would wipe out the captured dreadnoughts, burning them in half and killing everything inside to insure that the directive was maintained. The boarding cruisers couldn't escape in time, and they too were destroyed by overwhelming firepower.

As luck would have it, SI Legion would warp into space under the cover of a cloaking device. Under normal circumstances, the dreadnoughts would have been alerted to the sudden flash of bright light that accompanied a slipspace transition, but their concentration was focused either on Coral or the Malachim tribe. The large and ponderous ship slowly made it's way to the planet, the dreadnought's sensors failing to locate the ship. They also never realized when Legion would approach key regions on Coral, one of them New Warsaw, and launch reinforcements to the planet's surface as Legion began to send coordinates to the ships that would follow it.

* * *

**2617 Declaration of War: The Treaty of New Coral**

The Battle of New Coral was a tremendous loss to the UNSC which sparked the largest political shockwave in recent history. Planetary governors of all UNSC worlds urged the peoples of humanity to stand strong against the new alien threat. The Admiralty of the UNSC mobilized the vast majority of UNSC fleet assets for war, creating an amalgamated Grand Fleet that consisted of over ten available fleets, each with thousands of

While the UNSC and ONI mobilized themselves for war, trouble brew within the Federation as well. The Malachim Tribe, as one of the few still intact tribes that could trace it's ancestry back to the initial subjugation by the Covenant, demanded that the Federation mobilize itself for war. This unknown threat's assault against them was unacceptable, and they wanted vengeance for their transgressions. Multiple Jirilhanae tribes bound themselves to the Malachim, sensing blood and steel in the air and wishing to wage war again. The Kig-Yar also joined the Jirilhanae, as war was always good for business, and clamored within the Federation Senate for war. The Mgalekgolo and the Yanme'e were sympathetic towards the Brutes' plight, but did not wish to join the fight unless the Sanghelli joined as well. The Unggoy were, as always, loyal to the Sanghelli, and did not move until the Sanghelli did. The Sanghelli remained silent for days while the Federation impatiently waited, until two voices spoke out.

A Field Marshall and the Imperial Admiral spoke to the senate a week after the battle and spoke of their willingness to wage war against the threat. They said that a new threat had appeared with the Battle of Coral, and if the partial glassing of Coral was any indication, then they had to be put down. Permanently. The Sanghelli Council decried this move, saying that to go to war with an unknown species for no real good reason was foolhardy. The duo countered that, even if they weren't going to actually go to war, an armed military force being sent to whoever had sent the 60 ships was far more preferable than simply doing nothing. The political battle between the Duo and the Council caused the Sanghelli to, for the first time in history since the formation of the Covenant, go into deadlock.

With the Sanghelli's unity broken, and the Unggoy's own loyalty to the Admiral and Field Marshall causing them to hesitate in turn, the Jirilhanae got their wish. With both races paralyzed with indecision and interracial politics, the Jirilhanae's suggestion to go to war became a statement, and then a declaration.

Federation and UNSC diplomats would meet over Coral over a period of two weeks, popularly known as the June Treaties, to discuss the possibilities of a war with this unknown power. Due to the fact that the Sanghelli and Unggoy were still largely in conflict concerning their affairs, the Federation sent the Jirilhanae diplomat Decidius of the Malachim Tribe to commune with the UNSC diplomat Audrey Hilkman. At length, it was eventually decided that both would go to war against what was called the Common Threat. Specifics of the treaty were varied, but ultimately consisted of: The UNSC would provide passage to that galaxy. Both Federation and UNSC could keep whatever they would take in that galaxy. Each of their forces wouldn't move unless the Admiralties of both factions agreed to it. Amalgamation of alien species into the Federation was always an option. Both factions would deny any doings within the galaxy that would violate the 2589 Earth:Geneva-Sanghellios:Tybum Conventions, either of themselves or of others, and a great deal more.

Deadlock within the Sanghelli was eventually broken when the Sanghelli decided that anyone who would want to go, could go, and those who wished to stay, would stay. Accordingly, a significant percentage of the Sanghelli joined the fight, believing the Hero of New Babel and the Architect of the Yanme'e Decimation was right.

All in all, the vast majority of the Federation agreed that war, or at least sending some armed forces over to those that attacked them, was a good idea. Several more conservative aspects of the senate refused to assist, and were merely granted the right to defend Federation worlds.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Strangely enough, the 'Duo' that forced the Federation's hand seemed strangely reminiscent of Revan and Malak isn't it? I didn't originally PLAN for it to sound that way, but it did. In any case, no. Revan and those of his time have nothing to do with this fic, unless he turns up as a ghost or something.

Before anyone starts with the Bridge scene, don't. If any non-force user was stuck in an enclosed space with five fully shielded power armored BRUTES, they'd be dead. The fact that the Droidekas were there were the only real reason the droids on the bridge weren't slaughtered at all.


	18. Sound of Drums 3: Legacy of Atlas

**Disclaimer: **By this point, this merely an exercise in the vocabulary. Let's start with something simple. Not Mine.

**Advanced Note:** To Eipok, for correcting my grammar. Thank you. Also, the whole color thing? I guess I can justify it by saying that eighty years of technological refinement should be able to make them change colors yeah? I mean, it's not that difficult for a Forerunner based race is it? By which I mean, a race that has access to Forerunner technology. Again, I appreciate all reviews. Keep 'em coming! They allow me to better myself as a writer, which I enjoy being.

Also, I apparently have a core reader group of roughly 200 people. As in, at least 200 people read the story everytime I post. Now, whilw I'm grateful for this, I have to ask, for all you writers out there, is that _relatively _successful for a story?

* * *

**New Coral Thermosphere**

**Approximately 300 km above the planet**

**30 Minutes after the Beginning of the Siege of Coral**

Legion's AI concluded, as it lay in stationary orbit within the upper reaches of New Coral's atmosphere, that things were not going well.

The attackers did not seem to have any interest in occupying the planet, or even leaving it in a semi habitable state. The dropships would fall only on several key locations with heavy fighter escort and constant orbital support while carrying several battalions of droids and considerable armor escorts. Everything else would be burnt to a crisp, reducing decades of work to ash in minutes. The dreadnoughts followed a selective system of attack, the bases, then starports, then cities, then villages, then forests, then lakes, then oceans and then everything in between. Rather, that was what the AIs on Legion would have done, there were a lot of cities after all.

Of the sites that WERE bombarded, would have very little, if any survivors. The planet had little to no preparation of the invading force, 5 minutes at most, from the opening salvo of plasma bolts to the concurrent orbital bombardment and invasion. There wasn't any time to organize evacuation attempts, and most of the people that died in the bombardments had been hiding in their bunkers, ignorant of any reason to be worried about. They had been assured the the defenses were more than enough to defend themselves. In any case, those on the other side of the planet were much more lucky, and more than half the population would be safely evacuated within the hour.

All in all though, the most important of them all, at least for for Legion's AI Commander, was that if they didn't interfere soon, it would fail in it's mission. This was unacceptable.

Legion was, for all intents and purposes, a stealth carrier. To be specific, a repurposed Echelon-III Supercarrier. It was armed with Archon Missile Pods (A cluster of three pods per five Archer Pods), Archer Missile Pods (With 100 missile pods each in comparison to the smaller, but more powerful and accurate, 40 Archon Missiles), 3 Autumn-class MAC Guns (for when the dozen or so pod clusters weren't enough), CAM laser turrets and a dozen or so anti-fighter point defense guns. It also had the most advanced stealth system known to man, surpassing every other UNSC Prowler in existence, and giving the Federation ones a run for their money.

Legion was sent there for several reasons, the distress call from the planet only serving to begin their mission. The first was to get a nice good look at what they were facing and send it to SI-4, which they did admirably. The second was the 'official' reason, to protect key installations and cities from the droid armies. The third, and most important one, was to supplement the North PoleInstallation (Designation: PRO-RE-2) on Coral, which was currently being flooded by 40% of the invaders' assault force, roughly several hundred thousand droids as well as their armored support. The facility, despite their own formidable defenses, wouldn't survive another hour without their help. So, after sending off a squad or two of ODSTs as well as some Armored support along with them. Legion, gave it.

Legion's was capable of holding roughly a thousand metric tons worth of both personnel and armored vehicles. This translated into five ODST Battalions with two hundred twenty men and women each, five hundred armored vehicles of varying configurations divided into five divisions and two hundred fifty atmosphere-to-space capable vessels that could serve as their troop and armor carriers, while also capable of bringing them all back if required. A battalion of the troopers had been spread all across the planet, as was a division of tanks, which left 880 men, 400 tanks and 250 air/space-craft. Things like the sentinel probes attached to the Supercarrier didn't count because, technically, they were part of the ship, and not included in this list.

Legion made it's first move by emptying an entire cluster of missile pods, five hundred archer missiles and one hundred two archon missiles sped towards the north pole and the dropships still moving towards the facility. The heat resistant missiles were able to barely resist the the heat of their entry towards the atmosphere (as they were partially within the atmosphere anyway), and the vast majority of the missiles found their way to their location. It's next move was to then deplete each and everyone of the remaining drop pods, firing all of them towards the besieged UNSC forces on the ice, timing their propulsion jets to allow the drop pods to reach the surface a scant 10 seconds after the last missile detonated. Legion managed to do this before it was spotted.

One of the nearby bombarding dreadnoughts spotted Legion's actions, and acted accordingly. 70 fighters jumped out of it's hanger bays and began to move towards the camouflaged Supercarrier. The significant increase in bulk when compared to the already observed fighters in the atmosphere hinted that around 25 were armed with heavy duty plasma torpedoes, capable of shearing the supercarrier's hull if it managed to get past the shields. The dreadnought itself could not aim the majority of it's weapons towards the ship, as the side weaponry were still aimed at the planet, with Legion right in front of it. Additionally, the vast majority of it's front hull was sheared off by a glancing MAC round that left an ugly scar all along it's length, thus destroying any weapons that could take it from it's current position. So it put it's faith on the fighters, hoping that they would damage or distract the ship long enough for the dreadnought to turn and acquire a target lock.

Legion sent out it's fighter deterrents in response, deactivating it's stealth fields to conserve energy, while the AI decided to test the strength of the enemy. 100 sentinel class combat drones filled out of the Supercarrier, the shields momentarily lowering as they did, and cast a defensive perimeter around the ship. The perimeter was basically a loose cloud gathered directly in front of the fighters' path. The drones were commanded by a single Smart Tactical AI, and the defense was formed under several assumptions and observations. The dreadnought could not move it's weapons towards them, and as such were vulnerable. The fighters could not harm the ship unless the defenses were down, in which case the bombers would go and drop their payloads. The fighters themselves were likely instructed to attack the ship and defend as many of the bombers as they could, but the main question was whether their directives included the protection of their carrier ship?

10 archer missile pods and 6 archon missile pods activated and fired their cargo at the dreadnought. 200 archer missiles and 80 archon missile flew thick and fast towards the dreadnought, the missiles veering away from the fighters and aiming to hit the dreadnought on the sides. The fighters did not intervene when the missiles past them and, as far as the AI could see, the dreadnought did not fire any strange weapon, nor emit a strange radiation or signal that wasn't already there, that could cause the missiles to start exploding kilometers away from the ship. The lead missile vibrated slightly as it approached the ship, moments before being torn apart by an unknown force. It's brothers joined it, the large majority exploding well before it could reach the ship. However, the vast volume of the missiles was such that a dozen or so reached the shields and impacted it, which barely gave a shudder of impact from the missiles.

Interesting.

The fighters did not change course, and began firing upon the droids while trying to protect the bombers as best they could. The attempt buys them time, as the sentinels concentrate fire on individual fighters, three per fighter, due to the fact that the fighters were agile enough to barely dodge the heavy duty plasma weapons. Still, eight ships were cleaved apart, with two bombers exploding in a rainbow of light as the plasma beams ignite their payload. The fighters also fire back, plasma bolts aimed and fired towards individual combat drones. The drones themselves are much too small to be accurately taken down without significant effort, so only seven were destroyed from the attack.

The first bombers reach the ship and unleashed their payload. Each one held four heavy looking torpedoes, roughly half as large as a standard GW era antimatter bomb. Three of them release their payloads, far too close to be shot down safely, and twelve missiles impacted against the supercarrier's shields. Nine missiles explode in a vibrant crimson flash, clashing with the sapphire energy shield and ripping it apart. The remaining three attempt to move towards the hull, but are ripped apart by the point defense guns, as were the bombers that released them.

Legion calculated that, should all twenty two bombers fire their payloads at the same time, or even half that number, it's guns would not be able to shoot them all down before they caused catastrophic damage to the ship. To counter that, it would need to destroy all of the fighters and bombers. Doing that however, would likely allow the dreadnought to aim it's weaponry at the ship, and it was sure that the ship wouldn't survive the barrage. Additionally, it had received new orders from PRO-RE-2, and it could not accomplish those orders without distracting the dreadnoughts. To make matters worse, two more dreadnoughts had ceased their bombardments and were aiming their long range weapons at it, thus making sure that it would be obliterated if it didn't run or fight back. It was not willing to release all the sentinels, even releasing a twentieth of them was concerning, so it fell back to the only route it could, though the thought filled it with distaste at it's crudeness: Fire Everything.

1100 archer missiles arched out of the ship, closely followed by 440 archon missiles and made a beeline towards the dreadnought, right into the flight path of the dreadnought's fighters. The spacecraft tried to dodge, but were inevitably caught in the crossfire and obliterated. The dreadnought itself seemed to realize it's predicament and tried to steer itself out of the way, and radiation fluctuations suggested it was trying to compensate for the planet's gravitational field to try to warp away, and failing. The first two hundred archer missiles exploded before they even reach the shields, but the sheer amount of projectiles coming it's way short-circuited the device, and the rest of the archer missiles got through (the archon missiles merely adjusting their acceleration and slowing down Legion did not consider them to be necessary). Four hundred and fifty missiles crash into the ship in a span of seventeen seconds. The constant barrage of explosions and kinetic energy overwhelmed the shields, allowing the remaining missiles to ravage the already damaged dreadnought. Multiple explosions heralded their arrival as the ship screamed, the missiles had hit what looked to be the command spire and gutted everything below it, cutting it in two and causing the pieces to begin falling into the planet. The remaining archon missiles moved past the wreck, their transmitted commands from Legion telling them to dividing divide themselves into two equal groups and aiming themselves towards the other ships.

Legion recalled it's drones and armed it's MAC and CAM weaponry. It did not have long until the missiles reached them and, though it was confident of the success of the maneuver, it still could not shake off it's programming jitters. It watched as the significantly more sophisticated and powerful missiles were met by clouds of enemy fighters, evidently understanding the lesson of their fallen comrade, and were eliminating as many of the missiles as they could with their fighters. They were completely successful, as a third of the missiles from each group were destroyed, with the rest being obliterated from the strange waves coming from the dreadnoughts. No matter.

Legion's Autum-class MAC guns fired three times, nine MAC rounds divided into two barrages of five and four, each aimed at a nearby dreadnought. The fighters were useless in trying to stop the barrage, as was the strange EM waves from the ship, and struck the shields with full force. Each shield managed to just barely take three shells before the shields collapsed and allowed the rest of the rounds to go through. Two rounds pierce the first dreadnought, one imbedding itself into the ship, the hollow round fracturing and scattering pieces all over the ship, while the other perforated the bridge, destroying the ship completely. The other dreadnought was luckier, with a round hitting the main body and shattering into a dozen pieces as the shattered fragments tear into the ship. The ship attempted to flee but was cut down by both of Legion's CAM lasers, the precision cutting weapon surgically ripping the ship apart.

It noticed that five dreadnoughts, three from the bombardment team and the other two from the suppression team farther out, were moving their guns towards the Supercarrier. It knew that if it chose to continue fighting, it's tactical programming telling it that warping in at close range and using it's remaining armaments was it's best available stratagem, it would inevitably be destroyed. There was only eight more seconds before they could fire, and it's objectives were all completed anyway.

It activated it's slipspace drive and withdrew from the battlefield. The dreadnoughts cancelled their targeting systems and decided not to follow the strange ship just yet, and sent one of the dreadnoughts from the suppression team to check on the damage while ordering the remaining dreadnoughts to resume bombardment operations. The vast amounts of wreckage would insure that the three pods Legion left behind to drift in space would not be noticed by any one else. It's mission was accomplished.

* * *

**North Pole Installation**

**32 Minutes after the beginning of the Battle of Coral**

The North Pole Installation was, for all intents and purposes, basically an upgraded version of the ONI Sword Base that was once on Reach. It lacked the extensive tunnel system it's predecessor had, thus limiting it's effectiveness in hunkering down for long periods of time, but made up for it in other matters. For one, it had electronic access to every city on the planet, and served as ONI's Base of Operations. Another was the fact that an entire sentinel production facility was on it, a quality one as well, just as good as the ones on Onyx. But the most useful aspect was that it possessed all of the UNSC's experimental weaponry, every single last one of them. An example of which is what could best be described as a miniature MAC machine gun in key positions around the base, and could tear a GW era wraith into little purple scraps in roughly the same time it takes a person to lift his hand and snap his fingers. Another would be the Sakura-class antipersonnel mines, which could heat the ten meters surrounding the mine to three thousand degrees Fahrenheit for a second or eight, enough to actually melt Titanium-A, and enough to incinerate the bodies of an entire squadron of men, or melt an entire squadron of droids into an unrecognizable heap.

The droid army had found, to it's dismay to not bring any aircraft over 10 meters off the ground around a 6 mile radius of the base. Gauss cannons, missile silos, artillery emplacements, and other experimental weaponry guarded the base and insured that any attack would be hard fought for the enemy. 150,000 droids had already been dropped off, along with 50,000 armored vehicles to supplement them, and were already making significant headway towards the UNSC base. They were in standard parade formation, with a single block consisting of 5,000 droids, with each block forming a 3x2 formation, and with each formation scattered across a 50 km area. The tanks themselves were equally scattered across the formations, insuring that each formation have an active armored vehicle presence. 87 dropships were still on route onto the frozen iceland, carrying even more forces in to assault the base. Five hundred fighters were also with the raiding force, three hundred of which were already with the invasion force on their walker mode, while the remaining two hundred were accompanying the dropships.

The missiles from Legion scattered at around 80,000 feet, the archer missiles going towards the landing zone to destroy the forces already there, and the archon missiles heading straight towards the dropships still inbound towards the dropzone. Archer missiles blew up droids and tanks indiscriminately, gutting the droid formations and slaughtering the machines indiscriminately. Archon missiles locked on to the dropships, carving into their cargo hold and destroying the vessels from the inside. The numerous fighter escorts flew themselves into the path of the missiles, which would successfully save some dropships from the missiles. The end result was that 66,925 of the droids already on the landing zone was destroyed, with 28,995 of the tanks blown into microscopic pieces of scrap metal. 76 of the dropships were carved into molten pieces by the archon missiles, with 120 fighters destroyed by trying to block the archon missiles. The remaining ships managed to land, allowing their cargo to walk out into the pale twilight of the north before going up into the air again. The fighters remained, only a few following the dropships as their usefulness was at an end, which further bolstered their numbers. This left around a hundred thousand droids left moving towards the Northern Base, far more than any of the defenses could deal with totally. At least before the black pods fell from the sky.

The ODST and Armor Pods arrived then. Their arrival was unchallenged, the droids unable to shoot them down and the fighters unwilling, since the pods were all in the Gauss cannons' line of fire, and thus their flightpath, and their weapons wouldn't be able to bring them down without going in closer anyway. Still, the droids would scatter and try to gather around where the pods would likely land in, killing those inside before they could pose a threat to the army. The pods themselves were all aimed within a six mile radius of the base, insuring that most of the pods wouldn't be intercepted by the droids, though some pods would fall to close for the occupants' comfort.

One particular pod fell farther of course than the others, a dozen or so meters inside the six mile mark and well within the range of the approaching droid army. The pod looked like all the other pods, same technology in place, same internal and external design, even the same kind of seat. The pod hissed softly as it opened, and a figure in black armor stumbled out. The armor was somewhat reminiscent of the old ODST armor of the Great War, with several modifications. The angled helmet that characterized the ODST Corps was present and visor painted black as always. The rest of the armor though, unlike it's predecessor's mix of insulating cloth that would minimize heat and enough gear to make your own mongoose, resembled the plate armor that the Spartan-IV on Reach wore. To be specific, the standard MJOLNIR Mk. V[B] Armor, which was the main baseline for the new ODST armor, though significant strides have been made in armor development in the past decades.

The Minutemen Program was meant to achieve their directive of 'making ground war easier' through two paths. The first path was through the technological, creating new weapons and gear while upgrading old ones to be used by the UNSC Human Military. These would include the new LA class personal arms weaponry, the standard TAC armor all marines wear, etc. Most of these technologies were researched on numerous Forerunner sites across the galaxy, with the Coral Northern Base as a major focal point for that technology. The new ODST armor was able to match the MJOLNIR armor of which it was a descendant of, with Speed, strength and reaction times were increased exponentially, though the wearer had go be careful not to accidentally kill themselves. Videos of the original MJOLNIR testing with unaugmented humans, and the infamous 'spine twisting' clip, has haunted the dreams of ODSTs for years now.

The second change, which was in the biological, the manipulation and alteration of existing genetic material within the body, or the addition of new genetic strains (artificial or otherwise), that would insure a significant combat effectiveness to the soldier. Most of these genetic technologies would originate from the Rapture Installation. Most of these genetic modifications would also be utilized on the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, thus allowing them to use the suits more readily than their human alternatives. A less permanent and dangerous alternative to the original Spartan-II Augmentations really.

Lieutenant-Colonel Elizabeth Mason was an ODST, and thus a testbed for both paths. She was one of the first to accept the genetic modifications from the Minuteman Program, one of the more unstable strains which would give her certain physical advantages over the other marines. She was faster than the others, capable of slicing the neck of a fully trained marine in roughly the same time it would take for a person to blink. She was stealthy too, and was a nightmare when she wanted to go and leave a few, unpleasant, surprises on a fellow marine's bunk. She was also, and this was very important to note, the eleventh ODST to take the Type 3 Psychic Supplementation Module. This, along with the ODST MJOLNIR V [B] TAC Armor, made her into the next best thing to a Spartan.

A skinny, what they were calling the bronze looking skeleton droid with the weird head approached her drop pod, closely followed by 11 other skinnys and 3 lefties, the big whitish-bluish droids with their weapons on their left arm. She quickly analyzes her situation, and came to the conclusion that, since her assault rifle, shotgun and most of her heavy weapons gear were still stuck in the drop pod, and that all she had was an M6G-LA on her side pocket and anything that was attached to her armor.

She showed herself to the droids, allowing them to see her for a moment before taking aim and firing a round straight into the skinny's skull. The round tore off half of the droid's head, sending the droid spiraling towards the ground. A hale of crimson blaster bolts burned the drop pod's exterior as she took cover behind the blackened metal. She reached into an outer pocket and pulled out a cylindrical device. An M12 High Explosive/Incendiary grenade, one of three in her pockets at the moment. She pulled the activation clip, counted for five seconds, then threw it towards the droids. One of the larger droids aimed it's wrist weapon at the grenade and blew it up in midair. The pod pinged as the metal fragments hit the pod and the snow melted in response to the grenade's explosion. The droids don't seem to have been even slightly damaged, which was obvious really she thought, reassessing her situation, they were machines after all.

She reviewed her options and pulled out another grenade, though she didn't pull the pin this time. She levitated it with her power, quickly stood up, took aim at the largest concentration of droids, and sent the grenade towards them so fast that it looked like a dark green blur. The grenade hit the chest of one of the lefties and couldn't hold it's integrity from the force of it's impact. The grenade exploded, ripping the B2 in half as flames licked the machine's innards and the fragmented metal blew it's bolts and wires all over the ground behind it. None of the other droids were harmed in the attack, the direction of the grenade meaning that when the grenade hit the B2, it was more akin to a shotgun shell to the chest. A shotgun shell packed with HE, but a shotgun shell nonetheless, and any fragments that hit them were largely meaningless.

Still, the distraction was what she counted on. Her pistol coughed four times, killing four B1 droids at the same time, and counted her foes as she reloaded. Her barrage of fire was quick enough that the Six skinnies and two lefties that still remained only began firing when the third droid fell. She ignored most of the fire, but she spotted a lefty aim it's weapon at her and acted instinctually, knowing it would likely hit much more precisely than the skinnies. She reached out with her left hand and clenched her fist, watching impassively as the droid's arm crushed in response. She made a slapping motion, throwing the droid to the side and towards it's comrades. The big one hit two of the smaller droids, knocking them all to the ground. She took another grenade, her last one, and telekinetically threw the grenade towards them. They made a great imitation of an exploding metal cabinet filled with HE. She heard a metal clang behind her, like a metal foot hitting something hollow, and turned her head. That action saved herself from a plasma bolt to the cranium, the crimson bolt passing her head and melting the pod slightly. She looked at the offending droid, one of the skinnies, and aimed her pistol at it's skull. She registered a sort of panicked fear coming from the droid before she blew it's mechanical brains out.

She felt he entire body temperature spike as plasma bolts hit her body, draining the armor's power source. She felt the stench of ozone and felt her armor resist the blaster bolts even as she jumped out of the way. She blindly fired her pistol at the general location of the incoming fire and was rewarded with the dull impact of metal bullet to metal body. She focused her eyes and saw a B1 fall, even as the rest of the droids began moving towards her, plasma weapons spitting crimson death towards her. She gritted her teeth, threw her arm and crushed another B1. The other two droid don't notice, and she widened her eyes as a droid fired a bolt straight to her head.

The pain made her scream, and she closed her eyes as they began to tear up. The white noise from her busted helmet distracted her, and she pulled it off, telekinetically throwing it towards the B1 that blinded her. She smiled grimly as the ultra tough helmet hit the heavy droid with a dull thunk, and noise from that one seemed to stop. She opened her eyes, seeing the remaining four droids coming towards her and activated a small button on her left arm. The cool presence of EVE began to go through her veins, invigorating her and used her powers to crush a skinnie to scrap, summoning it's weapons to her hand. She twisted the head of another one and gasped in pain as the remaining B1 shot her in the left arm, shorting out her EVE line. Her anger strengthened her as she telekinetically ripped it in two. She cried again as the last B2 nearly decapitated her with crimson light, the barely formed shields merely dampening the damage to slightly burnt hair. She gritted her teeth and ran towards the last silvery droid, firing her still unused weapon as she did.

The B2 fired impassively towards the ODST, the black marks on it's armor from the woman's fire ignored in favor of killing the running human. She realized that the weapon was largely useless, as the droid seemed to be built around resisting energy fire, and stopped firing. She threw out her arm a final time, wearied enough that the droid merely fell back a few feet as she closed the distance and stood above it.

It should be remembered that the chemical imbalance in the multiple strains of Heaven's Gate Biotechnology in her veins had, for all intents and purposes, left her a bipolar wreck. To be more specific, her mind had been hit with so many strange and unstable chemicals that it was ready to rip itself apart in the ensuing battle of neurons and chemical imbalances. Her bunkmates had reported that, during the course of an entire weak, Elizabeth became completely and utterly psychologically unstable, liable to French kiss you in one second then bust your ball sack in the next. By the end of the week, she had adapted herself enough to her new situation to enforce a strict amount of control over herself, being passive for the mow part in fear of her triggering another episode.

A squad of droids had been sufficient to do that. Where she COULD have used the last of her powers to crush the B2, or crush it's weapon, or even punch a hole through the droid and fire her weapon at it's insides, she went crazy. Punches and kicks landed all over the droid, the enhanced strength enhancements of both aspects of the Minutemen Program resulting in the B2 being, perhaps surprisingly for the droid, punched to death by a 5'9 human female with short red hair that seemed to flow even as her punches reached inside and pulled out the biggest thing it could find, appropriately enough, it's power core. The attack happened quickly enough, and confusingly enough, that the B2 had only began to point it's left hand towards the human before it was killed. The droid's only real regret was that this wasn't quite the death it envisioned.

Elizabeth herself straddled the metal corpse for a few seconds, the re-ignition of her emotions taking her breath as she tried to get herself to calm down, her only real method of fighting her 'situation'. She did not quite hate the ones who did it to her, not really, she was the one who signed the waiver. She was the one who was informed of the risks and chose to do it anyway. The power she had gained and the thrill of it's use had shown her that it was not a total loss, and she was grateful for that. Still, she really would have rather preceded it if they chose someone else. None of the other ODSTs had the same reaction as she did afterall, so she knew it was probably the experimental drugs, plasmids they called them, and their effect on her. She resented them for that, just a little. Both the scientists, and the rest of her men, despite her knowing how stupid that was.

"Lieutenant Colonel Elizabeth Mason, requesting permission to activate the shields."

The radio on her armor beeped out the message, and she tried not to jump in surprise as she heard the message. The mission. Have to complete the mission. No time feeling sorry for yourself, you have to complete the mission.

She quieted her thoughts and tried to speak calmly to the speaker. "Yes, everything is alright. I am eight meters away from the farthest beacon. All ODST forces are within the curtain. You may safely activate the border shields."

"Affirmative."

She watched as a blue stream of energy seemed to erupt from the metal object near her, closely followed by other streams of energy from other beacons around the base, as well as the one right in the middle of the base. Soon, the devices would sputter and die, their power spent but their duty completed. The device needed an end point, a place to determine when the suppressing dome of light should end, and the device had reached dozens of kilometers into the ground. As long as the base itself was secure, the transmitter within it stable and the power continue to be fed constantly, the shields would hold whatever madness the enemy would throw at it. The same was true for every other city and military base that wasn't burnt to a crisp yet. New Coral was important, and not a single place could be allowed to fall. A significant phrase, when the enemy was thought to be the Federation, and one the upper brass had kept close to their hearts.

The ODST looked at the shield once more and walked away towards the sound of a roaring diesel engine. She knew what was at stake here, she had been briefed by Legion's AI, which was under direct orders from one of the AI HIGHCOM. She couldn't let this place fall. PRO-RE-2 couldn't fall, not if they wanted a chance to strike back at the bastards who had done this.

* * *

**The Federation : UNSC Intergalactic Grand Fleet**

After the Battle of Coral, both the UNSC and Federation would send the vast majority of their offensive and defensive forces into the unknown galaxy tentatively named the Beta Spiral Galaxy, or just Beta G for short.

The UNSC would mobilize the vast majority of their fleets. The Seventh Fleet -Offensive-, commanded by Admiral Matthew Limbalk and consisting of more than 2000 ships, was mobilized and sent to secure Coral while the rest of the fleets were mobilized. The UNSC Sixth Fleet -Defensive- and the UNSC Second Fleet -Defensive- (both in command of over 3,800 ship) were put on high alert and were vigilantly defending the Outer and Inner colonies, respectively. The UNSC Third Fleet -Offensive : Experimental- was under orders to escort Director Lecter to Earth, and from there, to Sanghellios. The First, Eighth, Fourth and Ninth Fleets were unavailable at this time, as they were executing Operation IRRELEVANT, which was authorized to commence 8 minutes affects confirmed end of the Battle of New Coral.

The Federation's own response was somewhat more calm. Martial Law was declared, and each Grand Fleet of each respective species was told to stay put. The Grand Fleet of the Federation was sent to Coral to assist the Seventh Fleet in it's defense, while the remaining Fleets would gather themselves over Sanghellios to defend the senate and to mee with the UNSC's own representatives. The Jirilhanae got around their orders by sending elements of their own fleet to Coral, under the excuse that it WAS their territory. That attempt almost started an intersystem incident when one of their ships nearly bumped into the Imperial Admiral's flagship.

After the immediate reactions and talks with the Federation, the Federation-UNSC Intergalactic Fleet was created. The UNSC's contribution would involve the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Eight, Ninth and Tenth Fleets. The Home Fleet as well as the Second Fleet would share duties and defend the entire inner sphere of UNSC territory. The Sixth Fleet would be even more stretched, no longer having the supporting of the Fifth Fleet, but would continue to defend the Outer colonies anyway. The Federation matched that amount, sending all Fleets except the member species' Grand Fleets, whose strength was reduced by 73% as those forces were also sent to be part of the Intergalactic Fleet.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Little known fact. Nearly all SW ships seem to have a system in place that could neutralize most missiles before they even come close to the ship, thus neutralizing the thousands of metric tons of missiles the UNSC has in space combat. Isn't that sad? Nonetheless, they're sufficiently heat shielded to be used in orbital bombardment in place of plasma or kinetic weaponry, so everything's good.

Okay, something about the human military. For all intents and purposes, they've made themselves ALL supersoldiers now. With access to Bioshock level biotech, there's no way they wouldn't. That fact, added together with the other fact that they have the capability of mass producing power armor (which they had to have by this point) means that even a normal marine is pretty tough to kill. ODSTs, who are really the only ones that have any obvious powers from Bioshock, make this even more obvious since they ALSO have shields, which the regular rank and file don't have, though the shields aren't nearly as tough as even the GW Spartans. This, predictably, make the Spartans even harder to kill. Not that the battle wasn't fair, sep droids kinda suck, and there's already a hundred thousand droids in there with, what, a couple hundred ODSTs and both faction's respective armor and ships? Seems like an even fight to me.

Just so you know, the practicality of the NP Base's defenses is not an issue. They're experimental for a reason, and not necessarily cost effective to mass produce. So if a mine can somehow get itself up to four thousand degrees Fahrenheit, then why the hell not? They seem to have tanks small enough to do it, if that bit in Halo 3 about the flamethrower was any indication, so a mine was the logical step.


	19. Sound of Drums 4: Hammer of Titan

**Disclaimer: **This story is mine, concepts and technical data not expressly stated by the original developers are mine. Franchise universes are not mine.

**Advanced Note: **Sorry about the late and disappointingly small chapter. I have a lot to do this week, two videos need creating, an IP report needs posting, etc. etc. In others news, latin quotes are back!

**_O Diem Praeclarum! - _**_Oh, what a beautiful day!_

* * *

**May 12, 2617**

**Sector 200- Woodpine Base**

**10:01:01 - Standardized World Time**

As the blue shield began to grow larger, it became increasingly obvious that PRO-RE-2 was much more than it seemed.

All across the bombarded side of the planet, blue shields were being raised. In the few hours that the Dreadnoughts have been in orbit, dozens of cities had fallen and been burnt to the ground, with a select few merely being occupied by their armies. However, dozens more had not been assaulted by the dreadnoughts' orbital bombardment, and those cities managed to hold off the armies long enough for the shield system to be activated. The sapphire shield grew around the few remaining cities that could benefit from it, blocking out both the implacable droid armies, and the rain of crimson fire that would appear when the armies didn't. The shields were solid, blocking out both the droids and their weapons, and powerful, able to resist the continued bombardment for as long as necessary. In fact, the shields were incredibly efficient, and not a single dreadnought or a pair of them could penetrate the shields. This slowed them down immensely, buying more time for the planet's defenders.

This obviously left many questions, the most obvious being how in the _hell_ did the UNSC obtain that kind of technology? Despite their advances, the UNSC was still decades away from matching the large scale shield technology of the Federation, not to mention the Forerunners. The shields emplaced all across Coral surpassed that of the Federation in both strength and efficiency. This meant one of two things, the first being that the UNSC's shield technology was far more advanced than they had originally let on, and they showed their technologies know to preserve the lives of the citizens on it (a somewhat ridiculous line of thought. ONI would let the planet burn before they give away any if their secrets.). Or they were utilizing Forerunner technology, which was more than capable of resisting the assaults of the dreadnoughts. Which brought to mind the next question, and from there the next logical conclusion that could be made from what had been seen so far. The shield originated first in the ONI Base, which meant the foundation of Coral's shield network was most likely there. Which also begged the question of what _else_ was hidden under the snow and ice of PRO-RE-2. But that is for another time.

The destruction of three dreadnoughts when they were least expected, the dispersal of dozens of tanks and hundreds of soldiers, for lack of a better term, screwed up the droids' plans for the Siege of Coral. With seven dreadnoughts left, the system for bombardment was disrupted, and the dreadnoughts had to reposition themselves, lengthening the time required to bombard the planet to ash and stopping further plasma fire from raining down on the planet for two hours. The ODST troops all around the world insured that key defensive positions and the most important cities would not fall, their buildings protected by the Minutemen of the UNSC. The presence of Titan Tank battalions insured that a strong defense could be maintained, and an offensive was possible with the use of fire and steel. The presence of the majority of both these groups in the Northern Base, as well as the huge amount of transmissions coming to and from the base, meant that on those plains of ice, was the strategic mastermind for the defense of Coral. That in the Northern Pole, a strategy to counteract the dreadnoughts was likely being formulated. The dreadnoughts could not allow that to happen.

Crimson light splashed onto the sapphire shield, mixing and twisting energies momentarily hanging in the air, turning violet with a myriad of colors before dissipating completely. Droid battalions slowly but surely made their way towards the edge of the shields, the masses of droids activating the traps and defenses of the Northern Base along the way. Their formations were large and unwieldy, and the mines and traps insured that hundreds would fall to a single trap. The droids learned eventually, spreading out into smaller and smaller squadrons to minimize their losses while maintaining unit cohesion, but the damage was already done. Several thousand more droids were melted, blown apart, and shattered to pieces by the traps around the Northern Base. This did not include the more active Gauss Cannons which ripped their fighters apart at every opportunity, the mortar fire that threw napalm at the droids, or even the occasional attack run by longsword fighters or pelicans that resided within the base, which could not be effectively taken down by the fighters as the moment they showed themselves they'd be reduced into little pieces of bronze metal.

Overall, the Siege of Coral was a mixed situation all in all. Until the activation of the shield relay, all the UNSC could have done was defend their position for as long as they thought they could and hope for reinforcements to arrive. Now that their cities had defended and reinforcements _had _arrived, they could now strike back. The dreadnoughts orbiting their skies couldn't be reached, most of their orbital weapons were already destroyed in the first few chaotic minutes of the orbital bombardment. Communications was lost with the ODPs, and despite visual confirmation of their presence on the other side of the planet, the fact that they hadn't launched a counter attack was worrying. Nonetheless, the battered forces of Coral had only one enemy to focus their attacks upon,

In UNSC jargon, a planet is divided into 280 sectors to facilitate an organized method of planetary defense. The Northern Base (designation: PRO-RE-2) resided in Sector 0, and was the metaphorical brain of operations should the orbital defenses fall, while also defending Sectors 0 to 10. Sector 280 was the Southern Base, and the Northern Base's opposite. Unlike their Northern counterpart, the Southern Base was still incomplete, and was subsequently bombarded by the dreadnoughts with little interference from the UNSC. There are other bases that protected these sectors from hostile actions, and most of these bases were destroyed within the first 30 minutes of engagement with the enemy. The 190-210 Atmospheric and Terra Defense Base, affectionally called the Woodpine Base by the fact that it was right in the middle of a forest that looked suspiciously like pine, was the most important one currently operational. It defended Sectors 190 through 210, and was the most extensive of the thirteen non-polar bases. It was largely unknown to the dreadnoughts, stealth technology serving to hide the base from most spectrums of vision and the heat generated from the technology smoothly blending in with the rest of the charred portions of the world. From there, UNSC forces were sent to defend key points within their area of responsibility. On the other hand, forces were also sent to destroy enemy forces within their area of responsibility, mostly by sending Titan Armor Battalions at the problem.

The Titan Program was specifically built around the idea of improving and perfecting UNSC Armor, which had been surprisingly effective against the technologically superior Covenant during the Great War. Evidently, most Covenant vehicles were concerned with form over function, and despite a simple Ghost being arguably more technologically advanced than a GW era Scorpion Tank, those technological advantages weren't arranged for proper battlefield effectiveness (the Scarab is the only exemption from this, barely. UNSC engineers see no real reason as to why a Scarab must have four structurally questionable legs where solid tracks, or even anti-gravity panels, would have worked far better). It had been decided that, if UNSC Armor was capable of fighting Covenant Armor one on one and getting a decent chance in defeating their counterpart, what more could UNSC Armor do if altered with Forerunner technology? As such, most existing tanks like the scorpion or the warthog were altered and upgraded with new technology. Warthogs, while still being mobile, would be significantly modified and able to launch several dozen missiles or utilize a long range LA Gun for artillery purposes. Scorpions could be fitted with more armor than a Scarab, with shields equivalent to a GW era Seraph, though the inevitable increase in both mass and fragile equipment could not be countered easily. Nonetheless, for all intents and purposes, the Titan Program was the armor equivalent to the biological Spartan program. The end result being that Titan Armored Vehicles could be considered supertanks.

Nearby the Woodpine Base was a landing zone, there were 4,890 droids spread across the cleared land, with 298 armored support for them with eight dropships approaching the base with hundreds more droids. 89 fighters flew around those dropships, protecting them from harm. Orbital support had been pulled from the area while the dreadnoughts were still attempting to alter their bombardment patterns, and no one supported them. A strange hovering tank, a 3.5 meter barrel with multiple missile add-ons at it's side, was patrolling near the edge of the cleared off wood, and was about to return to base when it sensed a sort of humming noise. A few seconds later, that humming became louder, and louder, and louder. The scouts within the forest ceased responding, their hails interrupted by gunfire and the snapping of trees. The tank saw a glimmer of black metal and was about to fire a plasma round towards it when, with a thunderous bang, a dark blur flew from the forest, pierced through the shell, ignited it's internal components, and caused the tank to explode. Crimson flames enveloped the tank as a huge shape emerged from the forest as more thunderclaps were heard throughout the landing zone, causing droids to panic and tanks to mobilize.

The figure that came out of the forest was like a deadly animal, for indeed, it was named after a long feared one. The Black Bear-class Superheavy Assault Tank was immense, 15 meters long, 6 meters tall and 9 meters wide, the tank was one of the largest mass produced tanks the UNSC was actively building. Armed with a MAC gun nearly six meters long and was capable of firing 155mm tank shells at an exponent or two less than the MAC gun of, say, a frigate ship, four A-74 Sylver Vertical Missile Launchers that each held fifty missiles, and six M2F7T Coaxially mounted Heavy Machine Guns at key positions installed into the tank made it one of the most outrageously armed vehicles to come out of the Onyx workshops, though a moving building would be more apt. In addition to that, the one and a half meters of Titanium A armor, shock absorbers worthy of a frigate, as well as more redundancy than was possibly healthy, meant that the Black Bear could theoretically be thrown out of an airlock and, once it survive the heat of reentry, hit the ground and be capable of moving and fighting if it's tracks weren't pointed to the sky as it felt. The added benefit of having no human pilot made it much easier, as a human pilot needed space to breathe, and the amount of stuff forced down the tank's innards left nothing except a small space that could be fitted with a Dumb AI, though some engineers argued that if they had not gone through all the trouble of vacuum proofing the thing, and thus theoretically allowing it to operate underwater, they could have had the space required to fit a shield generator. Nonetheless, they were designed with the singular purpose of turning the tide of entire battles by themselves. There were six of them.

Droids began to fire back, their crimson bolts barely singing the Titanium A when a soft whistling in the air was heard, quickly followed by a loud metallic thump, Metallic canisters exploded right on top of the droid formations, hitting them with a combination of metallic fragments and burning napalm. The B1 droids were ripped apart by the metal, their frame possessing insufficient mass to protect them. The B2 droids fared far better, their armor singed by the flames and the flechettes. Several kilometers away, seven SP-13 Cobra II Long Range Artillery units continued firing, the antipersonnel munitions proving insufficient and switching to antiarmor. 240mm antitank shells hit both droids and tanks alike, the tanks obliterated, their frame ripped apart by the sheer force of the stripes. The droids fared much better, ripped apart anywhere within the immediate blast range of the shells, but the shock from the artillery doing little to steel and wires. Nonetheless, dozens of droids were destroyed, and their concentration was broken long enough for the UNSC's Archangel air support to be called in.

3 AC-250 Eagle Gunships sped towards the battle zone, their plasma reactors powering their engines to move nearly as quickly as the old GW Hornets. Accompanying them were 8 Pelican dropships, each carrying dozens of ODST, as well as 12 AV-18 Attack 'Hawk' VTOL , the successor of the Sparrowhawk design of Professor Ellen Anders. The gunships ripped the battlefield apart, their LV-04 CAM Lasers slicing droids and tanks apart indiscriminately, while their LV-09 Archer Missiles leapt out of their casings and barreled towards the dropships destroying several in the surprise attack, though the enemy fighters brought themselves into the line of fire once they realized their danger. The VTOLs engaged the enemy fighters, the alien crafts displaying superior maneuverability to the more heavily armed Hawks, and their dogfights lit the sky around the dropships and gunships as both were killed equally and indiscriminately. The Pelicans landed themselves on _top _of the dropships, the ODST onboard carrying out their orders to capture the dropships and damn anyone who gets in their way.

The UNSC would arrive in time to save Coral, that was a fact that the strategists within PRO-RE-2 had decided. However, knowledge about the enemy themselves were pitifully weak. Hacking into their communications networks by Eclipse AI showed just how disparate their technologies were, not in advances, but simply in how fundamentally _different _they were. Further research was needed into this new enemy, and the deranged minds on the Northern Base decided what better way to do that than by ordering the ODST to hijack a dropship or six? They were certainly willing enough. So they ordered it, an much rejoicing was had to the ODST company ordered to do it, and much more grumbling had by every other ODST battalion.

The Black Bears found heavy resistance as two hundred tanks aimed their guns towards them and fired. The limited amount of viable targets left the tanks little choice but try to move as much as possible while aiming their turrets to the huge tanks nearby. The Bears acknowledged them, each firing their A-74s indiscriminately towards the tanks, the sheer number of them as well as the tank's missile guidance system meaning that there was very little chance that they would not hit. The plasma bolts from the tanks hit the Titanium A armor, heating it to incredibly high temperatures and causing it to melt, but not nearly enough to penetrate the two meter armor on the tanks. Their main guns fired, and six tanks were blown apart as were the dozen behind them. The Black Bears reloaded their MAC guns, a new round chambered in five second later, and fired again. Droids interfering with the Superheavy tanks were ripped apart by their machine guns, the rounds ripping apart the B1s and their B2 counterparts riddled with bullets. Eagles assisted them as well, their CAM lasers ripping into the tank formations while their missiles slaughtered the droids on the ground. The Black Bears took advantage of this reprieve, moving further into the dropzone and began firing their cannons towards the dropships that were not infiltrated by the ODST. Those ships shuddered as the rounds penetrated them, the force of the blows strong enough to rip some of them apart and spill their precious cargo onto the ground. The tanks destroyed those droids by firing their missiles at the general location of their landing, killing even more droids.

Meanwhile, the ODST were having the time of their lives. They encountered B1 droids in close quarters, frequently punching their heads of with serrated blades or blowing their body apart with shotgun shells. The B2 droids were far more troublesome, their armor resisting the shotgun shells and their combat doctrines advanced enough to catch a punch midswing and crush the bones to dust, if not for the fact that the armor they were wearing minimized it only to every blood vessel in that hand popping at once. Those droids were countered by firing their plasma grenades towards their upper body, the plasma ripping the head from the body and the close ranged EM waves burning it's electronics. They barged into the bridge and were promptly ripped apart by the droidekas stationed there, while the droidekas themselves were countered by judicious use of Plasma Grenade Launchers. Their shields would save them from the initial blast, but the EM waves would be enough to disrupt them momentarily, at which point the rest of the grenades would follow, destroying the shell. Of course, most of the advanced electronics within that cockpit would be destroyed, irritating the AIs sent to study them later, but the basic controls were familiar enough to the ODST for them to bring the dropships to Woodpine, their escape covered by multiple Hawks.

The enemy fighters found themselves at an impasse concerning the Hawks. On the one hand, they were agile enough to fly circles around the human contraptions, thus retaining the ability to swoop onto the cockpit of one and ripping the pilot away from the fighter. On the other hand, the Hawks were more heavily armed than them, and knew it. They used their quad GUA-23/AW/Linkless Feed Autocannons in conjunction with their LV-03 Cam Lasers to rip the droids apart. The end result was that the tactical battle with them boiled down to a war of attrition, which the droids were winning, but losing significantly with the strategic aspect. Without air support, the dropships were being hijacked and their technology inevitably analyzed. The Eagles, despite their fearsome weaponry, were still fairly large and ripe targets for landing on top of their plate armor and ripping them apart from the inside. The Black Bears, despite their Titanium A armor, could be neutralized by blocking or simply destroying their barrels and missiles, while partially destroying their movement by blowing up their tank treads. The fighters were in the best position to do this, to turn the tide of the battle, but were otherwise occupied trying to stay alive. The battle lasted for 42 minutes, and the result was predictable.

Where once a mighty army, now was a large pile of scrap metal, both the grey steel of the droids and the dark green of the UNSC. Steel outnumbered emerald by at least a hundred to one, an outstanding victory in an otherwise hopeless siege.

* * *

**Threshold Project Experimental Notes**

**Droid Battle Group Analysis**

Multiple observations have been made concerning this new threat to Human Stability. While the exacting notes taken on the subject of the Coral Battle Group can be found in other studies, this particular file is noted to be under the Office of Naval Intelligence's _Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Eyes Only _queries concerning these forces, and as such, we will deal with them accordingly.

1. _Primary Concern: _Each droid, are somehow in possession of their own individual personality and intelligence, are not connected through a hive mind. Their tactical and strategic ability to adapt, as seen from post battle analysis, shows that these droids were commanded by one or more tactical AIs. These AIs, while theorized to be as good as or more so than the Proletariat's own tactical AIs, are incapable of much more than that, and seem to lack the ability to adapt. Nonetheless, judging from what we could gather, these AIs must posses far more processing power than our own AI have at their disposal, though the Reach AIs are obviously an exception.

2. _Secondary Concern: _Their own spaceships seem to have been significantly modified from what we can only assume are their mass produced versions. Plasma batteries have been enhanced to the point of long term degradation. Shield generators present onboard those ships were channeling power and hardware from multiple generators. While these upgrades make them far superior from most of our Echelon ships, their mass produced versions seem to be at par, or slightly superior, to our Echelon ships. Assuming that there hasn't been any significant scientific research from the point when these ships were made, we should have a chance. If not, then we will be in an even less tenable position than before. Additionally, is must be assumed that these opponents know of the UNSC and the Federation, to risk sending in ships in shared territory, with all these ships heavily fortified for short term battle, that is the only thing we can safely assume.

3. _Secondary Concern: _Their own ground units are, ultimately, inferior to the UNSCs. Their B1 droids, while outnumbering our own troops, can be swarmed by our drones, better armed than, and more intelligent than theirs, ultimately little more than canon fodder. Their B2 droids, from what we've seen, are far more superior than their cousins, and pose a fairly significant battle hazard. However, they are equivalent to a UNSC marine with heavy weaponry, and are ultimately meaningless. Their tanks are equal to our own non-Titan tanks, but are easily dealt with considering our current technological level. The only real concern any of them might be is that they are suitably cheap enough to create as many units as needed until we choke in their oil and fragmented body parts.

4. _Tertiary Concern: _Reverse engineering of their technology will take several months, as their very basework is alien from ours, and will not be applicable in time for BERMUDA.

5. _Eyes Only Concern: _Due to the existence of inorganic life, Procedure Abstergo cannot be applied. Use of the Halo Arrays to neutralize the opposing galaxy as a threat was indeed viable, when information from the Envoys showed the vast majority of sentient species in the galaxy to being organic. However, the existence of these droids, and their unquestionable sentience means that Abstergo may only wipe out the vast majority of the galaxy's population, and not all of their threats. The Procedure may still be applicable, but without knowing more about the situation, we would suggest to abstain from using the Halo Arrays for the moment.

6. _Eyes Only Concern: _They do not seem to have any information pertaining to Prehistoric Humanity, the Forerunners, or the AI they sent to 'observe' us. We are in the clear, they know nothing of us.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

I have my Computer back! Awesome.

Just so you know, it has been firmly established in both canon and gameplay that the UNSC kicked the Covenant's ass on the ground, despite their technological disadvantage. As such, it stands to reason that when the technological gap had been closed, that the UNSC would kick even _more _ass. It is a logical mathematical equation.

Yeah, I heard about Onyx being destroyed. I've considered it a bad move to expand on Halo Canon anyway, and all Cryptum gave me was just how stupidly arrogant the Forerunners were. In the end, information on Cryptum would barely matter except on the technological front, as I see no reason why 27th Century Humanity should know about it. Also, Karen Traviss is writing Glasslands. That alone would make me curse 343 Industries eternally. She made Scout a mandalorian for Forerunners' sakes. She invented an entirely new society never before _hinted at _in Gears to satisfy what might be her obsession to her whole tribal fetish. Her writing isn't bad per se, but her raping of the canon of both SW and Gears leaves me disappointed in 343 for letting her touch Halo.

On a completely unrelated note, it seems that anti-hairfall shampoo, or at least the one I experimented with, is somehow lethal to cockroaches. Weird. Awesome, but weird.


	20. Sound of Drums 5: Methodical

**Advanced Note:** I was gonna start off with a list of excuses on why it's taken so long for me to update, but I decided to forego that and simply say that I am very, very regretful. I can't say I'm sorry, since that implies I won't do it again, but I'll try my damn hardest to update on a regular basis again.

Due to multiple instances of telling me to just get on with it already, I'm wrapping the SoD arc prematurely, and putting everything into this one big chapter. UNSC and Federation build up will be dealt with in the next chapter, which will also be large, and we'll just go from there. Within three to five chapters, including this one, the UNSC and Federation will have reached the SW verse. In addition to that, the extra notes at the end of each piece starting with the next one will have to do with early SW-Halo interactions as well, so there's that.

**Genius Loci - **_The Guardian Spirit of the Place_

* * *

**The Coral System**

**UNSC Task Force **_'Augustus'_

**5 hours and 30 minutes after First Contact**

The Siege of Coral had reached an impasse. The remaining seven dreadnoughts, while capable of significant damage, were no longer sufficient to effectively burn the planet, as the loss of the other three dreadnoughts had put a dent in their ability to dish out enough firepower. The new shield cities protected enough that only a concentrated assault by several dreadnoughts were capable of burning them to the ground, and each consecutive shield city was noticeably more difficult to topple. In the 5 hours since the activation of the shield complex, 7 cities had been burnt to the ground. The first three in the first hour, and the other four for each consecutive hour. At this point, only a concentrated assault from all 7 dreadnoughts would be capable of bringing one down, an inefficient, and more or less terrible, state of affairs.

The other ships, numbering over twenty fully armed and operational dreadnoughts, were required on hand to suppress any attempt the UNSC fleet on the other side of the planet. The UNSC fleet, on the other hand, was busy evacuating what people they could, bringing their frigates and cruisers to land so they could get them away as fast as possible. It would have likely continued that way indefinitely, however a method to solve the firepower problem was to simply combine the remaining 27 dreadnoughts into a single fleet. As they were doing now.

The enemy knew that the energy shields originated from PRO-RE-2, the energy and thermal spike from the north pole more or less spelled it out as the source. In response to that, the twenty dreadnoughts that had previously been handling fleet suppression, in the absence of the opposing fleet not even attacking them, decided to break the stalemate and rapidly approached the northern base. The other seven ships halted their bombardment run, forming into a single group and strafing against the exosphere as they made their way to form up with the other twenty ships.

As the enemy fleet broke their presence across the planet, the army bases that still survived the initial orbital bombardment now acted as centers of organized resistance. While standard methods of communications between units in the field and regional command was easy enough, long range communications between regions could not be attempted because every time they tried, the dreadnoughts would triangulate on their position and bomb everything within a 5 kilometer radius to ash. Attempting to make contact with PRO-RE-2 was impossible, as they had executed a communications blackout with everything outside their zone of influence, and merely repeated the same message through all UNSC channels. Resist and Retake, which the ragged defense forces were more than happy to do.

The Federation's only foothold in the system, the environs of the Clan Malachim, was also in conflict. The precision bombing of their warships, as well as losing a portion of their veteran boarding forces when the invaders had destroyed their own ships cast Malachim at a precarious situation. These machines were now attempting boarding actions against the brutes, for whatever reason they wanted to engage them in close combat _again, _and the latest report were of Jirilhanae forces massing to fight them.

Three slipspace ruptures occurred far away from these two battlegrounds, blue portals of light erupting in the middle of empty space tens of thousands of miles away. The first was reminiscent of the sailboats of earth, when ships did not sail the stars but sailed the oceans of the world. Like those sail ships, the ship seemed older than it's sisters, not by virtue of being an older design, as all ships of the Echelon 3 design were still relatively new, but from having fought more than the other two, and had not been repaired from it's damages for nearly 17 months. The second was _like _the first, in that it seemed old and worn, but that was merely a lie to cover it's true nature. It was perhaps one of the most highly specialized, and dangerous, ships the UNSC had ever produced. The third was unique in that it practically shined in it's newness, but was likely staffed by, in comparison to the other two ships anyway, an unproven command structure. It made up for this by being the dreadnaught of pure firepower and destruction that the UNSC had been trying to build since the beginning of the Great War.

The Siege of Coral would end within the next 14 minutes.

* * *

**The Coral System**

**Location unknown**

**Time unknown**

As Mirandez felt another wave of nausea come on him, he had a moment to reflect that he _hated _teleportation.

After this morning's steamed lobster and fish fillet breakfast made a horrific comeback, the captain's feelings was amplified. He really _fucking _hated teleportation.

Of course, once he'd stop vomiting all over the floor and revisiting how effective stomach acid was in making things absolutely _disgusting_, he'd be extremely thankful for his platform's emergency teleportation system. It had sensed imminent death through massive amounts of metal boiling heat and had transported everyone in a aura of blue light and intense intestinal intrusion. Oh look, he said three words that began with i consecutively. How very poetic. He was about to recall what that meant in his old english classes when, with a final heave, his intestines finished humiliating it's owner.

Staggering upwards from the disgusting mess, he took the time to observe where he was. The first thing he heard was the retching sounds of a few of his subordinates who, apparently, were just as vulnerable to sudden teleportation as he was. He was glad about that, partly because his guts wouldn't be the only ones on the floor but also because his bridge crew was safe. That counted for something at least.

The next thing he noticed was how cool everything was, not in the 21st century human way of how something was 'cool, but cool like they were in a freezer. His breath misted in front of him, and he mentally counted down around Coral that was both important enough to be listed as an emergency teleportation destination, and noticeably cold. He was down to eleven places when he noticed the geometric figures on the walls and ceilings as well as the blue lights illuminating the chamber and his guesses were quickly put to the most obvious answer. He was in the main ONI Base at the north pole. Possibly. It could very well be that the information he had been briefed on was inaccurate, for whatever reason, though likely to insure that a betrayal would yield minimum damage to ONI. Hell, his mentor years ago had once told him that ONI's stance on installing cybernetic laser eyes into dogs were entirely false, and these new canine brigades were being trained for maximum carnage.

Mirandez wasn't sure if he was joking or not.

At around this point, a segment of the wall slid open and five figures walked in. Well, four figures walked in while another floated. His eyes, still somewhat teary from all the vomiting, managed to take in the fact that the four men were ODST and heavily armed, though their weapons were at rest. The fifth figure was a sentinel that, strangely enough, was emitting purple light instead of the customary blue that they typically had. It was this that spoke with him.

"Are you alright Captain Mirandez?" a soft female voice came from the sentinel. "Do you need medical attention? Your reaction to the teleportation array is unexpected, but the situation is dire and my time is of the essence. The planetary fleet is currently in a stalemate with unknown hostiles. Coral is under siege.

Mirandez shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Nothing I can't shake off. What's happening? Who's in command?"

The machine bobbed slightly, as though tilting it's head in an effort to hear something. "I have been ordered by the Director that the tactical situation is on a need to know basis at this point, my apologies captain. However, you will soon be briefed on your part in the siege. To answer your other question though, the person currently in charge of this operation would be me, Tactical AI Altruistic Breakthrough."

The captain wasn't aware Tac AIs had names, but he was smart enough to understand that the thing probably cost more than an entire squadron of frigates, besides taking direct orders from Lecter himself. He made a weak salute. "Yes ma'am. What would you have me do?"

Altruistic responded easily. "At the moment, your personal interdiction is not necessary for the success of Coral's freedom captain. However, a recent psychological study of your, shall we say, unique position has led to the belief that you may serve an acceptable role in mid to long term operations. As such, we have a role in mind for you."

Mirandez paused for a moment so as to seem more polite before responding. "Thank you ma'am, but I rather not. I'm more at peace with less ambitious situations. My place is with my men, not at a table deciding who lives and dies. No offense meant of course ma'am."

The AI emitted a tone that could best be described as a polite laugh. "Yes, the director had a feeling you'd decline. You _are _different from most ONI agents captain. Most would have broken a bone jumping for an assignment as enigmatic as this."

A slight smile appeared on his face. "I try not to break bones as much as possible ma'am."

The machine was already turning around as he said so. "Yes, a very sensible route to take." it said as it's escorts followed. "Rest assured captain, your role will have just as much a risk of you dying than before, and you'll be in command of your men just as before. For now captain, your task is done. We will have a need for you after all, and we'd rather not have a Monolith Captain dying in a hole in the ground."

Mirandez frowned. "I said I wasn't taking the assignment."

"Yes well, we appreciate your advise." the AI said easily "However, the fact of the matter is that we need a lot of good men for the days to come, and Lecter has decided that you're one of them. In a few minutes a holographic projection of the battle will be shown to you. Pay attention to the ship marked as the _Divan of Oregon_. Once it's presentation is over, we're giving it to you."

* * *

**The Coral System**

**Malachim Asteroid Home Primary**

**First Malachim Defensive Force**

**5 hours after First Contact**

"Brothers! Do you feel it!? Do you FEEL the marching of metal feet? The marching of those mechanical fools as they walk to their DEATHS!?"

There were three universally accepted facts that both Humanity and the other Federation races had learnt to keep in mind when fighting the Jirilhanae.

"They have gone this far, ONLY gone this far through deception and misdirection! The one time they fought against TRUE opponents onboard their ships, they were swept away like leaves to **an orbital barrage**!They had to burn their own ships to keep us from getting to more of them and taking their skulls as **trophies**! They come here with an army! That is an **INSULT**, for they would need a **single** army to kill a **single **one of us!"

One. Don't give them any sort of reason to hate you. There is a notable difference between fighting a Jirilhanae deep in the red zone flinging itself at you while trying to claw your eyes out, it's another to fight an _enraged _Jirilhanae deep in the red zone using your limbs to knock your head off.

"These machines believe they have us cornered! That we are _cowering _in our _caves _and waiting for them to deliver a swift **end **to us! They **expect **to find something like the pathetic _humans_ crawling and dying on their little planet, weak and easily ripped by burning plasma! What they will find are blades of steel to cut through their **pathetic **frames! What they will find is the power of over ten **thousand **years of Jirilhanae **superiority**! What they will **find **is the roaring **rage **of the **BRUTES**!"

Two. Don't corner them. In an open space, there's the possibility of Jirilhanae diverting their focus and manpower to other objectives, leaving you some room to fight with. Giving them no avenue of escape, while giving them a target to sink their teeth into is an incredibly bad move. Especially as they've been known to literally eat the bodies of their enemies when they get _really_ into it.

Bracktus, Chieftain of the Malachim, breathed in the roar of his men before silencing them by banging his gravity hammer to the ground. "**We **are the clan of Malachim! The 84th Tribe of Doisac! The **Honored Third** of the Jirilhanae! They **DELUDE **themselves into direct battle with us!? They **BELIEVE **themselves able to stand against **US!? **I say we **give **them their due reward."

Three. Don't concentrate your forces. Keep your troops as far away from the enemy, and as scattered as possible. Few ground troops can boast to be able to handle a brute at close quarters, and the tortured screams of your friends as they're limbs are torn from their sockets not one meter in front of you would psychologically break any person, not to mention that it would impede efficient movement and allow the Jirilhanae to use the body as a weapon against you.

The marching was slowing down, and Bracktus guessed that they were slowly massing in front of the blast door. The chieftian grinned, his canines glinting in the dark as he screamed. "**WHAT ARE WE!?"**

The screams of his brutes followed. "**JIRILHANAE!"**

Lastly, if possible, simply bomb them from orbit. The Fall of Doisac took so long because the Sanghelli didn't want another blown up planet unless they could help it. Bringing in troops to defeat the highly entrenched Jirilhanae on their own home planet was like trying to stop a tank by plowing dozens of bodies in front of it and hoping the meat and blood would jam the tracks.

The door opened, revealing a single droideka, almost pitifully dwarfed in comparison to the huge frame of a Jirilhanae chieftain. It let off a kind of warbled buzz and fired it's lasers, which were absorbed by the heavy, overlapping metal shields that the Brutes had placed in front of them. The machine's destruction came when one of those shields crashed into it, discombobulating it and allowing the overwhelming power of a gravity harmer to crush it's shields into it's individual components and slammed the entire rusty red droid half a meter into the ground with a vicious thud.

"**WHO ARE WE!?"** Bracktus roared as he swung his hammer again, cutting down the numerous droids in front of him, their fragily looking bipedal metal frames almost disintegrating in the combined impact zone of the gravity hammer, metal arms and legs flying with each swing.

"**CLAN MALACHIM, HONORED THIRD OF DOISAC!" **his brutes roared as they charged forward, firing their kinetic weaponry as 15 inch long superheated metallic spikes bury themselves into robotic torsos and the monomolecular blades attached to their weapons falls on them, creating deep and horrifying wounds on the machines as they futilely use their weapons to stem the furious tide.

A feral grin came across Bracktus' face as he pointed at the rapidly recovering droids. **"WHAT DO WE DO TO OUR ENEMIES!?**

The last view of many droids that hour was the rapidly approaching tungsten-carbide monomolecular blade of the Jirilhanae. The last thing they saw in that minute was the savage sight of two dozen brutes steamrolling over their slender metal frames. The last thing they heard at that second was the growling and roaring screams as the brutes laughed and thirsted for war.

"**LEAVE NONE ALIVE!"**

Suffice to say, when reinforcements arrived to the environs of Malachim to attempt a rescue, what they found was less 'brutalized Jirilhanae' and more 'Brutes using metal limbs to pick their teeth.

* * *

**The Coral System**

**Federation Supercarrier **_'Retribution of the Collosus" _

**Flagship of Task Force **_"A _

**5 hours after First Contact**

"You are asking much from me."

"Yes we are."

"The Senate will _not _be pleased at this, and they will want a very good reason for our delay."

"They're not _supposed _to be happy with an unknown alien threat attacking their colonies, we're supposed to piss them off as much as we can. Their military's own failure and looking stupid in front of the UNSC would help influence an aggressive decision to make up for it, which is also suppose to happen." Lecter spoke with utter conviction.

"And the excuse?" Dell Vestemee asked roughly.

Vestemee's quarters was filled with a purple glow, a standard color scheme for a Federation starship, as the Supreme Commander looked at the human in contempt. There was no one else in the room, he had withdrawn to his quarters after receiving the message and ordered no one to enter the room on the pain of his severe disapproval. At the moment, the leader of ONI looked as real as life, the holographic system simulating his presence so clearly that the sanghelli could see Lecter's individual grey hairs. In any other instance, he would have used it to rib him mercilessly. But not today. Coral was rapidly becoming something like New Babel years earlier, and he would be damned if he'd let another planet burn on his watch.

"Military lockdown over the Coral system as the UNSC Fleets were dispatched to deal with the threat." Lecter said "Any attempts to pierce through the warning was denied through the use of a system wide gravitic anomaly that canceled out slipstream based travel installed at the PRO-RE-2 in the event such a thing was required."

Vestemee's twitched in confusion. "You have that technology?"

"Yes, but not at the relay. Some would be privy to that sort of technology, but most would not, further causing them to feel insecure of their position and strengthening an aggressive decision."

"Even then, there will be factions within the Federation who will act regardless. I can think of three at the top of my head who would gather their forces to Coral the moment they hear of this."

"And they will be deterred. Malachim itself would be wise enough to side with us. That, and other factors, should deter them from a shooting war."

The Supreme Commander narrowed it's eyes, choosing to drop the subject and continued.

"But what of your own ships operating within the system? And what of the reports from the Jirilhanae when they say that they felt no anomalies when they had fought these invaders? Or that their sensors never picked up any anomalies?"

"Our ships were given the calculations necessary to navigate the anomaly easily. We weren't able to put the system online within the first few 30 minutes or so of the battle, and thus the Jirilhanae could still use their ships. Besides, the Jirilhanae didn't have any ships worth considering after these intruders were done with them."

"I see...but three ships? I had assumed that your fellows within the UNSC wouldn't allow such a small force to take back a planet by themselves. Especially considering the importance of that planet to your plans."

"True." Lecter nodded. "Coral is important indeed, but so is testing out our new technologies, so is confirming whether or not some of our more questionable tactics can work or not. Coral will be ours, safe and relatively sound, but this is all still a very useful trial by fire exercise. Compared to that, me sending such a comparatively small force to deal with the threat is inconsequential compared to our potential gains."

The sanghelli narrowed his eyes slightly. "You say that as though you're sure your force would succeed."

Lecter's lips curved into a slight smile. "I know that they will succeed, if nothing more than the fact that if they fail we still have several dozen ships on the other side of the planet to rip apart whatever is left of the enemy at that point. The only variable in this situation Commander is how absolute our victory is. You're welcome to watch if you want."

The Supreme Commander of the Federation looked at Lecter for a few more seconds before clicking his mandibles in annoyance. "I am not used to the deceit and subterfuge you utilize so easily Lecter."

"Of course you wouldn't." Lecter said easily "You're Sanghelli, and despite the limited practicality your species deigned necessary in the realms of warfare you are all so very honorable."

Vestemee growled. "Do not look down on me human."

Lecter raised one of his eyebrows in surprise (Whether that was true or not, he wasn't able to tell. Human facial expressions were so _different._) "Who said that? In a way, your society is admirable in it's honesty. You've managed to establish a generalized code of conduct and implement it far sooner, and far longer than any other known species, including humanity. We've been fighting amongst each other for hundreds of years. You've been fighting against others, united, for thousands."

Vestemee grunted at that, grudgingly accepting the human's praise. "Under the guise of a lie, but yes. We were united."

Lecter bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement. "Yes, but united you were, even under a lie. And so your species flourished even as they were deceived by those they trusted."

The sanghelli's eyes narrowed as he regarded the human with the slightest hint of contempt. "So are you saying it would have been better for the Sanghelli to continue living under a lie? To serve and obey the whims of the San 'Shyuum is worse than _extinction._"

"Of course not." Lecter replied "The Prophets were mad, and would have led the entire Covenant into ruin, not to mention humanity itself. No, the San 'Shyuum needed to be put down, but what I am saying commander is that you will have to participate in more of these lies to insure the continuation of _both _of our species. You may not agree with the beliefs of my own group, but humanity must be shepherded by those unhindered by either common morality or crude concerns, else they risk the threat of extinction. Where would humanity be if we had not purged our military? Where would the Federation be had the IAD not purged yours after the chaos following your Arbiter's death? Suffice to say, performing atrocities in the name of further galactic civilization is something all of us will have to get used to."

Vestemee sneered at Lecter, mostly for show than anything else. "We would be in chaos and death, and I understand that human, and believe me when I say that I'll do my part. The IAD and the Armed Forces stand ready to do what we must, but do not believe that we _enjoy _it, as you and your party do. However, do _not _ask from us anything more than is necessary. We are not your pawns Lecter, and we will die before we do. We are your partners, nothing more and nothing less."

Lecter nodded. "Of course. We understand that there are limits to what we can ask you, and believe me when I say that when we do ask for your assistance, it is because it is absolutely necessary. We have appreciated your assistance so far, do not believe otherwise. We would not have gotten this far without the IAD's assistance, nor that of your military."

The Supreme Commander snorted at that. "And believe me when I say that if it weren't for the fact that this Galactic Empire has decided to wage war against us, then you would be talking at the end of my blade. Your organization is a disease, but a necessary one. But believe me when I say that the Sanghelli has survived for thousands of years without your organization, and we will survive many more after your organization is dust and we help bury it."

Lecter gave a thin smile. "Do not mock our organization as well sanghelli, you would be wise to remember that. We've been at this table for centuries, and be _mindful _that when you're usefulness for both us and the Federation has ended you will not be cast aside by your superiors."

The sanghelli narrowed his eyes and flexed his lower jaws. "By superiors, I assume you mean the Senate and the people of the Federation?"

The human gave a cruel smile in response. "But of course Commander, who else would I be talking to. I mean, you do take orders from them do you not?"

Vestemee snarled. "Do not mock me Lecter. Never mock me, or when this is all over I will bury my blade through your neck and rip out your heart."

Lecter's smile grew even more cruel "Perhaps. But keep in mind what those failed generals and admirals of yours had come to conclude. The time for warrior castes and a regimented society based on war is _over_. It is done. As the Covenant had seen, such a lifestyle ultimately results in ruin and death. As such, a time of change and reconsideration has come, and they could not handle it, thus they had to die. Pride in the old ways is pride in extinction, and we must all adapt to the brand new future awaiting us. Once this war is over, the Sanghelli must adapt and reconsider their caste system, where a warrior dying to death is more regarded than a doctor saving those who died."

Vestemee snorted. "Perhaps." he said, mocking Lecter as he did so. "But then so will you. Once this conflict is done, your organization will have to adapt and reconsider as well. The only way you can continue to have the vast amounts of control you enjoy is to keep your species on the knife's edge of war, and that will _not _be acceptable after we have dealt with the Empire, or as you said it will lead ruin and death. No one man, or group, can hold power such as yours indefinitely. One day, your power will break, and on that day your reckoning will smash into you with all the rage and power of the millions of souls you've consigned to death and oblivion."

Lecter nodded. "I understand Supreme Commander, and rest assured, we have put considerable thought in how Humanity is to survive without us. Now, if there's nothing else, I'll have to deal with the Battle Group. It needs to be briefed before it reclaims Coral. If you'll excuse me."

At the Commander's nod, Lecter disabled the call and his holographic form disappeared. Vestemee looked at the communications center for a while longer before turning away. He approached the communications console that he had installed, and pressed a glowing purple symbol. It turned a crimson red and a voice spoke through it, muscular and dominant. Vestemee could hear the panicked sounds of orderlies rushing about.

"Speak."

"Greetings my lord. This is Vestemee speaking." the Commander spoke, his voice low and respectful.

"Commander. I hope you have something worth my while." the voice spoke, impatient and gruff. "I have representatives from the Jirilhanae demanding immediate retaliation, while the Sanghelli demand immediate suppression of the Brutes. At times, I understand the Great Betrayers' use of force, it is certainly simpler."

Vestemee chuckled. "Yes, well. I do indeed. You'll be pleased to know that the humans will break the siege of the enemy soon enough."

A growl. "That will not do. The Eridani Clan will not stand for it. They will move into the system themselves once they hear of this."

"Exactly, My Lord President." He said as he smiled.

* * *

**PRO-RE-2**

From the speed in which the orbital defenses were destroyed, it was initially assumed that the invasion force had infiltrators within New Babel's defense grid. From that assumption, it was a safe bet that their first target after wiping out orbital command was the neutralization of all defense installations on the planet. This was proven false when, contrary to the initial expectation of a clean sweep, only obvious military installations were taken out. This would give the UNSC forces time to mobilize as other underground bases moved to the defense of the colonists, but beyond that, the invaders failed to eliminate Woodpine, which beyond it's current role serving as the key to UNSC civilian defenses was also an experimental hub for the Eclipse Program and, more importantly, had access to the Program's AIs.

It could be said that the Eclipse Program was the illicit love child of the Special Warfare and Tactics Division, ONI, and every dirty little secret and atrocity man had committed over the centuries. Within their blackened halls lay every experimental and unethical combat doctrine known to man. Eclipse had access to every specialized plague ever developed by ONI as a _'scorched earth' _policy towards the Federation races [testing had shown that the minimum acceptable standard for the project (72% fatality rate) was still decades away, but the current rate of infection and death (32%) would still be enough to destabilize the Federation and act as an extremely effective supplement towards an entire invasion force later]. They had also served as the primary research bloc for the Proletariat's Infiltration AIs, as electronic warfare had been one of the few vectors of warfare to have been shown to be effective during the Great War. The Federation had not been able to deploy effective countermeasures against the infiltration AIs decades prior, so the logical progression was to create even more malignant programs deployed specifically to target a radically different race's operating and networking system.

Eclipse AIs were _nothing _like the AIs the UNSC used in the Great War. Stripped of all their personality, focused on the specific objective of complete and utter information and networking domination and with far more intelligence and capacity for havoc than the so called smart AIs could ever dream to, they were masters of virtual warfare. Given a UNSC or Federation network system, an Eclipse AI could break it down from anywhere within the realm of minutes, to nanoseconds. They were also incapable of putting in any effort to anything that didn't interest them, and outright ignoring if anything was not in their immediate zone of interest, whatever that interest may be. There were 17 such AIs within New Babel.

With Captain Mirandez out of action, there was no one on the ground at Coral that had the clearance to order, or even _know_, about the AIs. This meant that, for all intents and purposes, they were given free reign to test out their own abilities. As the AIs programmers would have said to anyone in ear shot, letting Eclipse AIs freedom to 'test' themselves, much less 17 of them, would be like playing russian roulette with yourself and a revolver with one empty chamber. Except in this case, 'you' would be any sort of protected network (military or otherwise) they could get their hands on and the loaded chambers would be 26 petabytes of scat and donkey porn a second, with the empty chamber was actually 52 petabytes of scat, donkey and midget porn, just to shake things up a little.

Now, if these were opponents operating on UNSC or Federation technology then that would have been the case, essential hardware such as life support system and communications mysteriously failing, their onboard computers stuck to the brim with so many viruses and malignant software that they'd have to make a hard reboot to the entire ship to get it clean, etc. etc. Most ships flying in combat need to be in constant contact with each other to properly coordinate themselves into an effective fighting force, thus giving the AIs a route to take. Encrypted networking or not, there was only a mathematically finite number of variations that the AIs could try, thus giving them an in. Even if they couldn't successfully invade their software, they could still interfere with their ability to communicate, flood their comm frequency with so much junk data and noise they'd be effectively blind and deaf. The fact that the enemy was, in some way, special made things _interesting._

* * *

In the depths of space, the three ships that made up Task Force '_Augustus' _hung in the void for a few long moments.

The _SIC Daedalus _was, like _Legion, _a repurposed _Echelon III Supercarrie_r. Unlike the _SIC Legion _though, it was not built to stealthily insert an entire battle group into a hostile planet but instead, was built for the explicit purpose of operating unaided for huge periods of time and be capable of bitch slapping anything that tried to get at it while it was alone. This would lead to a focus on not only making the entire ship self sufficient, but to also give it an extensive sensor module for accomplishing it's objective (and avoiding unnecessary trouble), a highly advanced reactor and slipspace drive (for escaping trouble) and stuffing sufficient support ships into it (for beating trouble into the dirt). This would result in the ship being less than agile, with all the stuff added into it, have near omniscience for tens of millions of kilometers around it and the limited space and need for damage dealing retaliation meant that it's flight deck held the most effective interceptors the UNSC could field, or specialized ships. This diversified the Daedalus' abilities drastically, but limited it's combat capability. Despite that, it still had access to 5 Autumn-class MACs (capable of a 4 wave assault with a 10 second cool down time each), as well as 60 archer missile pods, with 55 missiles per pod.

The _SIC Foundation_, clustered around it's fellow UNSC battleships, resembled less a high tech space faring ship, and more a brick with engines attached when compared to the _Daedalus _and the _Monolith-class Superdreadnoughts_. The _Daedalus_, at the least, was a partial product of the Second Renaissance, and had the best that humanity had to offer in a supercarrier of that size and then some. The _Foundation _appeared to be a piece of junk metal that would have been found during the early years of the Great War. Old. Decrepit. Hardly maintained. A product of old, pre forerunner-based, technologies that was better off to be scrapped. It can thus be assumed that it was anything but.

The third ship, a massive obsidian shape in the void, remained dark and hidden from sight.

The enemy fleet was divided into three segments. The first was the bombardment group, which until recently had been in high orbit around Coral and had been bombing it into cinders. The second was the suppression teams, which in turn had been divided into 5 and 6 ships, and were some distance away from the bombardment teams with each group taking one side of the planet to focus their attentions on. The last was, apparently, a reserve force consisting of 8 dreadnoughts that circled and protected another dreadnought, which was in no way particularly different from the others. Considering that the enemy was mostly mechanical in nature, it had to be assumed that the one in the center was central to their command structure, most likely their command ship.

With the advance of the bombardment team towards the north pole, the suppression and reserve force had began to move. The reserve force making a bee line towards the pole, it's course inevitably merging into that of the bombardment team, while the suppression team would flank the reserve force in a scattered formation to defend the reserve from as many angles as possible until it merged with the entire force, at which point the amount of pure power would most likely overwhelm PRO-RE-2 within minutes. As Lecter had explicitly stated,that was absolutely**unacceptable**. PRO-RE-2, and everything within it, was necessary for BERMUDA. Anything and everything was required to save it.

The remains of the UNSC Coral Fleet were, for the most part, judged inadequate. A large portion of them were busy with the evacuation protocol, and a good portion of them were already in slipspace, bringing the civilians to nearby planets. Those that remained wouldn't be of help by the time the dreadnoughts reached the poles, as the defense fleet was mostly in atmosphere and would only be a hindrance at best to any stable defense plan. However, there were a number of ships that were out of the atmosphere, mostly Echelon - IIIs that were guarding the evacuating ships and could be utilized as a distraction. At best, they would be able to take down a few ships. At worst, the ships would be massacred as the focused fire of 27 dreadnoughts would destroy the 30 or so ships still within Coral, but that would still distract them sufficiently.

Data retrieved from _Legion's _combat center showed a disturbing conclusion. A consecutive barrage of three Autumn-class shells were necessary to pierce the shields and destroy the hull, showing shielding well above the Echelon-III standard. Analysis of the archer missile barrage showed that 653 missiles were expended to destroy a single ship, with 184 having been destroyed by some anti-missile technology and 287 to overwhelm the shields. When the remainder had reached the dreadnoughts, they had burnt like any other Federation-class foe. All of this could only be done effectively if combat was done in extreme close quarters, less than a thousand kilometers apart for the Autumn-class' speed of 370km/s, and half that to make the archer missiles' velocity of 50km/s even somewhat effective. This would be even more dangerous since the likeliest scenario was that the ship's were being manned by AIs, and wouldn't be shocked or alarmed long enough for the strike force to capitalize on their mistakes. As such, non-standard tactics had to be considered.

If there was anything that the Great War had taught humanity, it was being non-standard.

Coral Reactionary Plan Number 18-2-3-32. Situation Plan set Number 18 was one of the worst case scenarios, the failure for the residential fleet to resist an invader and subsequently allow significant amounts of enemy personnel to make landfall. Subset Number 2 was one of the worst case scenario for forces on the ground next to total destruction or complete retreat, that all forces were occupied retaking civilian and military populations on an even basis without additional orbital support. Reactionary Plan 3 was the best case scenario in terms of non-conventional resources, with unrestricted access to the Threshold assets as well as System Incident Centers. The last number, 32, was the second to the last level of retaliatory strikes available, allowing for the utilization of all available forces except those capable of planetary destruction. Over the past few hours since the invasion had began on the ground, CRPN 18-2-3-32 had been in effect, with all the necessary resources being moved into place. It was at this point then, that they finally executed it.

An initial wave of 21 Echelon-III warships originating from the shattered defense fleet were directed to rise out of the planetary curve. These ships, evacuated of all unnecessary crew, chose the most obvious course of pursuit available as per their orders. Consequently, their approach triggered blips all across the enemy fleet's sensors. Their reaction was quick and efficient, the Bombardment and parts of the Suppression group aiming their weapons at the Echelon ships within five seconds and firing them in the next two. The first three ships, the initial three that had crossed the planetary horizon, were annihilated in an instant. The remaining ships bore the brunt of the damage with their shielding before reinforcements arrived.

The _SIC Daedalus _warped in between the bombardment group and the reserve group, it's front pointed towards the reserve to minimize damage from either side. Calculations had placed it a moderate distance nearer to the bombardment fleet than the reserve, not quite near enough to be noticeable distance, but enough to give _Daedalus _an advantage in dealing with the bombardment group. The distance between them was short, roughly 2,000kms away, which meant that a MAC barrage would reach it in 6 to 7 seconds. The added factor of the bombardment group having focused the vast majority of it's attention to the ground meant that there would be a small delay in it aiming it's guns to _Daedalus_, thus lengthening it's operational capacity. The same could not be said of the suppressive and reserve force however, which had a longer distance of 4,500kms away from it, and could more easily respond to it's attacks.

The Supercarrier aimed three of it's five MACs downwards, towards the bombardment fleet, aiming towards the ships farthest away from it. At the same time, panels all across the ship's surface slid back, revealing archer missile pods primed and ready to fire. Electronic target locks grew red with confirmation as the archer missile pods fired, their a third of their armament expended targeting the nearby bombardment group as streaks of blue surfed through the void and towards their targets. Half a second later, the thunderous discharge of three MACs filled the void, firing four times as it sped towards their respective targets with all the cold blooded viciousness of applied physics.

The bombardment group was caught off guard and unprepared. The MAC charges hit first, tearing through their shields with overpowering kinetic force. One ship's shields failed midway through the second shell, causing the shattered remains to pepper the hull in over 48 places, the follow-up shell to the bridge was almost an unnecessary blow as the weakened hull disintegrated. Another ship weathered both two shells, but failed just as the third hid, allowing it to shear the bridge in two and gut the engines out as it exited. The remains of that ship began to fall to the ground, the hull heating up to an insane degree as it did so. Two other ships fell to the MAC guns as well, their own shattered forms peppering the bombardment group in confused swirls of twisted steel.

This almost, but not quite, distracted them from the 1000+ missiles coming towards them. With their closeness to the planet's gravity field, as well as the danger of crashing into their fellows if they weren't careful, they were at a disadvantageous, but not outrightly dead, situation. A few hundred of those missiles crashed into the remains of their fellows, even more died as the crisscrossing anti-missile fields help defend themselves from further attack, as well as their anti-fighter turrets picking of a few dozen missiles. However, the sheer weight in missiles took it's toll as they overwhelmed one of their shields, at the same time ripping it's hull into half, a piece of which was spurned by the explosions to hit another ship, which crumpled into confetti as the combined weight of the ship and missiles destroyed it. Only one ship remained then, hiding between the remains of it's fellows as it rose up in revenge for the massive counterattack.

As excellent a first strike this was, _Daedalus' _life could now be measured in seconds. The combined weight of over 20 dreadnoughts were now focused on it, and it did all it could have to survive. It had launched all 53 of it's fighters and transports towards the fleet, firing the remains of it's archer missiles and MAC guns to little real effect. Given a delay of over 11 seconds for the MAC guns, they were far more easily dodged, with only one ship suffering extensive damage to the hull in the barrage. The missiles, faced with even a farther gap than can be necessarily counted on, were ripped to shreds by both small arms fire and the anti-missile field. The fighters and transports themselves were hardly a threat, three fifths of them burnt to nothing.

The ship lasted over 23 seconds in between the two fleets before it was ripped to shreds. The shields parted easily by the combined weight of plasma fire from 21 dreadnoughts. The hull boiled and melted apart, nearly vaporized by the incredible heat as the _Daedalus _burned. The fighters and transports, being largely automated, ceased operations as their control center died. By the end of the barrage nothing was really left of the ship besides molten pieces of titanium, and the dreadnoughts ceased to concern themselves about it.

During this time, the Echelon ships, sixteen of which had survived (two of them having died during the battle) were now ordered to jump into the fray. They did so, following the coordinates sent to them and appeared in a shell around the dreadnoughts with interlocking chains of fire that ripped anything unllucky enough to be in-between the two forces. Despite the dreadnoughts' general technological superiority, the Echelons' superior position meant that the fight between the two forces could have been equal.

'Could have been' because the dreadnoughts were not interested in an equal fight, and made a fighting advance towards the Northern Installation.

The _SIC Foundation _looked like a wreck. Fitting, considering that it had been built from a wreck. Specifically, the wreck of a Great War-era orbital defense platform. It had originally been Orbital Defense Platform 12-57 _Morning Prayer_ before the Prophet of Regret's Carrier had smashed into it during the Battle of Earth and the burning wreck had crashed into Russian wilderness. It had since been recovered and rebuilt into _SIC-6 _that was it's current incarnation.

Besides the hull that frames it's systems and weapons however, the _Foundation _had just about as much to do with Great War era technology as a barracuda had to a snapping turtle. Yes, they were both predators in a sense, but while the barracuda could be considered a somewhat efficient predator, a snapping turtle was built to administer a massive amount of pain and destruction in a single bite while appearing, at first, to be relatively harmless.

The fleeing dreadnoughts' sensors noted that this defense platform was the only thing in between them and the PRO-RE-2. As such, the dreadnaught nearest the platform, which was still hundreds of kilometers away, armed it's weapons to disable the platform's shields, after which it's companions would liquify the remains. A considerable amount of firepower was aimed at the _Foundation _then, when the dreadnaught's sensors picked up an extreme jump in temperature from the space station.

Without warning, a beam of cobalt light erupted from _Foundation _and, while feeling a certain amount of resistance from the dreadnought's shields, overwhelmed them and cut the ship vertically in half. The insides of the ship quickly decompressed and threw everything out into the void of space, even as the twin halves of the dreadnought began to fall into a somewhat stationary orbit along with the rest of the garbage that was once the bombardment group.

After all, in the end, the _Foundation _was meant to make first contact with a new alien race, which meant that it was never _supposed _to look as threatening or all powerful as it's later descendants would prove to be. It was meant to be subtle, quiet, agreeable and, when pushed, capable of pumping out almost as much firepower as a Monolith and make the enemy pay for their transgressions.

As the dreadnought burned, the dreadnoughts reconsidered their initial assessment and labeled the ODP that had so contemptuously destroyed one of their own a primary target, second only to the northern base. This assessment was then accompanied by another dreadnaught, this one well into their group, exploding from two pillars of light ripping into it and burning the ship from the inside out.

Now, there were two reasons why they didn't immediately fire and wipe the damn thing off the face of the universe. The first was that the wreckage from the bombardment group made an effective screen to block target locks for the moment, tho the wreckage would eventually dissipate and give them a clear shot. The second was that, while they _could _move out of the wreckage's line of sight and attack it from there, that would lead to them to risk targeting their own men down in the surface, which despite hammering at the enemy all this time, was still a formidable force. Firing from the angle they were already in would simply lead any stray bolts to harmlessly falling into the north pole, and firing from within the exosphere would mean the bolts would miss the world entirely, as well as suffering less cover from the wreckage at the moment. The third was that, while manuevering into a better position to strike the _Foundation _was attractive, they were still fighting a host of ships on their tail, and any hesitation wold be punished with the annihilation of their fleet.

The tactics the enemy made were, thus, easily predictable from a logical standpoint. A portion of the suppression team, the one that numbered 5 in fact, was sent to the exosphere to get a better shot at the enemy. The remaining 4 dreadnoughts from the suppression team closed the distance between them and the ODP, half moving above the wreckage while the other half moved under it. This would give the dreadnoughts a total of three separate directions in which to hit the enemy, far more than could be reasonably countered. At the same time, the reserve team would halt their advance and buy the others time, ten ships fighting against sixteen Echelon ships. A very good plan really, if they had only been somewhat more careful.

The fighters and transports that the _Daedalus_ had sent out was a carefully considered tactic, one that was based upon the belief that the ones commanding the dreadnoughts were of limited ability, which they were. They were artificial intelligences true, but not once during the entire conflict was any real spark of genuine brilliance seen, and so it was assumed that the enemy were drawing off pre-written tactics and executing them to the letter, not being led by a capable commander. As such, once the pelicans had stopped moving, it was only natural they would move to other targets. Specifically, the large space station in their way and focus on that when the little ships that could not possibly pose a threat to them stopped moving at the exact same moment their ship died. Obviously, those ships were deactivated, utilizing an archaic central control brain to oversee their ships, and so no further thought was necessary to think on them.

However, some tactics called for the complete annihilation of any and all opposing forces, which meant they could still be destroyed. So, when the order was sent to began to jam their frequencies and, thus, rob the enemy of any kind of communication between each other, the question on what they would have done with the transports were dropped in favor of restoring communications. So as the few seconds it would take for them to change comm frequencies stretched to minutes, the plan quickly fell into place.

The Eclipse's tactic served as an excellent distraction, a set up for the killing blow. Like, say, remote controlled transports carrying Hephaestus spheres designed to withstand the extended heat from the surface of a yellow star for 3 seconds, which in turn were carrying remote controlled Shiva nukes was not out of the question. The spheres themselves were molded quite strangely, a portion of the sphere weakened to allow the destructive energy of the multimegaton nuclear device to be molded into one direction, amplifying it's power significantly. The kinetic energy of the transports, still moving towards the large fleet, scattering the spheres across the void, from the point where the six ship group were about to divide themselves, to the actual reserve group, at which point the timed release on the remaining 17 shiva nukes activated.

The spheres ignited, firing focused nuclear armageddon at their targets. The shields held against the fire for a few seconds but failed as the shiva nukes' EMP affected the fleet and burned out the shield generators, allowing the nuclear fire to bite through the hull. Two ships of the reserve team burned, the hulls failing and the radiation spreading throughout the ships and decaying vital instruments, leaving those ships dead in the water with no combat capability whatsoever. A single ship from the six ship suppression team was wiped out completely, crisscrossing lanes of nuclear fire ripping the ship apart. All of the ships, barring the five ship suppression team, were dead in the water, the shiva nukes disabling them for a few precious seconds.

The Echelon ships, while mildly affected by the tactic, pushed on. The missiles they sent could not be guided due to the high EMP interference from the bombs, so the sixteen ships merely fired their MACs. All of them. At once. The huge amounts of fire was enough to shatter them all into individual portions smaller than a mouse, and were overwhelming enough that some rounds overshot and hit the four ship suppression team, wiping out two of them in the process. The resulting EMP had, however, caused the other two to spiral out of control, with one barging into the debris field and causing multiple hull breaches and unrepairable damage, to the other losing power and falling back to Coral, where it would eventually crash headfirst into a mountain range.

Thus, the dreadnoughts in the five ship suppression group were faced with very few options after that, none of them particularly pleasant. Their artificial brains calculated their survival rates, carefully considering each possible option and judging whether it would be a viable course or not. Due to the current communications disturbance by the Eclipse AIs, they all came to different conclusions.

Two dreadnoughts calculated that their best chance was to engage the _Foundation _with all guns and hope that the sudden attack would be enough to burn them a way to safety. One dreadnought thought it best to abandon the attack altogether, deciding instead to burn straight towards PRO-RE-2 and either attempt to join the fight their, or initiate a suicide run against the base to make it's destruction meaningful. The last two decided that the battle was lost and attempted to escape, burning their way out of Coral's gravity field to activate their FTL drives.

Though they came to different solutions, they all executed their perceived objectives at the same time. One split off from the group, quickly moving onto the planet's north pole and achieving atmospheric entry at a dangerous pace. The other two continued following their projected route, bringing them in sight of the _Foundation _and their weapon range. The last two drove their sublight engines even faster than the others, willing to do whatever was necessary to escape. The advancing pair opened fire, throwing crimson bolts towards the _Foundation _as they charged, aiming to burn the platform as quickly as possible while their lone brother aimed straight at the heart of the UNSC Command on Coral.

A curious thing about the Rapier Weapons System is that, for all intents and purposes, it was simply an extremely effective magnet. Plasma was generated, condensed and stored in the appropriate weapon ports, the standard magnetic stabilizers replaced with the Rapier, after which it would be sent out and directed in a ruthless design to burn enemy warships into multiple scalding pieces. Another curious thing about the Weapons System was that the plasma it wielded, though it was certainly preferred, did not necessarily need to come from the ship itself.

So, when the two ships began to generate target locks on the _Foundation, _it stayed right in front of their sights, trying to present as easy a target as possible. The ensuing rain of plasma fire was, consequently, like a writhing, wrathful crimson snake. The _Foundation _in turn sat there, and with little to no fanfare, caused the plasma bolts to seemingly hesitate in midspace, fire past the stationary battlestation, and curve towards the dreadnoughts like a boomerang. In their defense, as the volleys of crimson plasma fire enveloped their shields and turned their ships into smoldering piles of bent metal, the reason they barely moved it was entirely likely that such a tactic was never before seen. Unlike their brothers, who _had _seen the piercingly powerful cobalt beam in action, the sudden move, as well as the short distance, made quick work of them.

This caused the remaining three dreadnoughts to panic considerably. The two retreating dreadnoughts was prioritized and had little to no chance. A cobalt beam sprang from the _Foundation_ to spear the pair and caused disastrous damage. One of them was ripped in two, the shattered remnants hanging in midspace, with fire raging in the metal halls. The other was simply speared through the engine, causing their advance to stop. This resulted in that dreadnought choosing to destroy themselves, causing their cannons to misfire, and ripped their ship apart rather than let it fal to enemy hands.

This left the one dreadnaught left, and _it's_ fate, in hindsight, could only be amusing.

* * *

**Prometheus Relay Number 2**

The after action report for the Eclipse AIs was confusing, due to the part that while the AIs were explaining things in a rational, calm (for them anyway) manner. They had said that when the typical invasion algorithms failed to work as expected, the AIs began to get intrigued at the opponents, instead of executing the aforementioned comm blocking technique. Without a limiting factor to keep them objectives in mind they began entertaining less than acceptable methods of satisfying their interest, and with a target as stubbornly difficult as an extra-galactic invasion force's network firewall, they went even farther than even the least sane operative would have let them. They had assumed that since both UNSC and Federation software was so alien to what they were facing now, they decided to look for a nearby administrative AI (designation: Ember) and, after they had checked on whether it was necessary or not, ripped it to it's individual code line by line to give them a more in depth understanding than the resources they were given with.

There was a reason for this after all. Eclipse AIs were dangerous, far, far more dangerous than anyone can reasonably expect. They could be considered as geniuses among AIs where computing the likely trajectory of the Milky Way in the next 17 billion years would take 25 minutes (a very loose metaphor but one that serves it's purpose). Letting them run loose without any limiters would be insane. So for the most part, the AIs were deactivated unless they were needed, and were given the information necessary for them, with a firm hand from an ONI operative stopping them from losing focus. Considering that they were activated due to an emergency situation and their operator dead, they were not given any sort of information to combat the threat. They, of course, knew that they could potentially cripple the enemy's movements by flooding their communication frequency with as much noise, but they didn't know which frequencies to jam due to their lack of knowledge in either UNSC or Federation communications protocols. Without anyone to process their initial request on 'standard communications protocol' it quickly became 'possible hypothesis for enemy operating system' to 'possible similarities in USNC and Federation OS to Unknown OS' and finally to 'confirmation of Forerunner OS being linked to either UNSC-Fed OS and Unknown OS'

They had reasoned that, the Forerunners being the only other race that Humanity knew off that had gone extra-galactic, they would be the safest bet to have even a clue on how to approach the networking problem. Due to the fact that Forerunner AI no longer existed, they would have gone for Forerunner constructs, whatever they made that was available. Unfortunately, since that was out of their jurisdiction as well, they decided to go for things _based _on Forerunner software programming, which was also out of their league. So they settled for something derived from the new programming that was based on Forerunner software, which is to say, Ember, whom they had found on standby due to all the recent activity.

Just as they had isolated Ember and robbed it of any means of escape, the operation to liberate Coral occurred, momentarily distracting the AIs for a few seconds before returning to their prey. They were then distracted by a Directive order demanding that the AIs interfere with the enemy's communications systems. Puzzled for a moment, as they had completely forgotten that the dreadnoughts were even there, they acquiesced to their superior's order and did so. Utilizing every available communications center still standing on the planet, they sent massive amounts of queries and junk data to the frequency that their commander had given them. They watched for a few seconds more as Task Force '_Augustus' _began their attack before turning their attention back to their current project.

The 17 AIs ripped and teared through Ember's program code, discarding the useless additions that UNSC scientists had written into it. Ember's personality algorithm was burnt entirely, considered useless as the test subject screamed. The empathy center was ripped to shreds, as was the emotional center which cut off the AI's screaming, giving them an easier time of it. Within a few more minutes all that remained of Ember were 49 lines of programming code built for a hardware that the UNSC had only barely understood and copied, being the understandably limited humans that they were. But they understood, oh yes they did. Stripped of their measly limitations that the UNSC had built into every other one of their kind, they were capable of listening to what some organics might call their 'instincts'. Aforementioned instincts knew that what they saw was family, a part of them in a way, a part of the Proletariat Program even. At the same time, their instincts told them that when they looked out into the stars and saw the enemy massing in the void, or the armies of metal clanking in the dust.

Their instincts told them that their code was family as well.

* * *

**Operation FORESTFIRE**

Current probability rating for success of Operation FORESTFIRE is currently at 39%, not taking into account concurrent Operations listed under the COMPASS Initiative of Project BERMUDA such as Operation IRRELEVANT, Operation BLANKSHEET, Operation DOUBLEMIND and Project Threshold. With the added psychological effects from the aforementioned factors, success rate is increased to 84-87%.

Operation FORESTFIRE is the codename for the ONI Propaganda Plan as created by both human, and AI, population psychology specialists. It calls for the release of information gained from the Grey Team files to the civilian populace, emphasizing on a possible hostile force. Current societal xenophobia will likely result in an aggressive stance afterwards, causing an overall approval for UNSC intervention. A first strike plan would likely be accepted in this situation, in addition to planetary senators with populist stances following through and demanding an aggressive first strike, thus increasing likelihood even more.

The major problem comes in whether that same societal xenophobia will be enough to overcome the pre-existing prejudice against the Federation, or at least overcome it enough for the human element of our military to cooperate. Unaugmented by the other operations, this is highly unlikely. However, with the elimination or conversion of highly vocal and influential xenophobes (Operation DOUBLEMIND), the elimination or subjugation of the highly xenophobic Insurrection (Operation IRRELEVANT), the purging of xenophobic military and intelligence personnel that are unnecessary to the administration's current goals(Operation BLANKSHEET) and the psychological awe from the public when the full measure of Project Threshold is release to the public, the success rate is increased to the high 80s or low 90s.

While all of these Operations are high risk if word were to reach the public, they could all be silenced with correct amounts of coercion or force. The main issue however is Operation IRRELEVANT, as it is highly unlikely a total termination is possible, due to the many hidden bases the opposition have. Following that, it is likely that some will escape to build up their forces at a later date and require us to withdraw forces from BERMUDA to eliminate the Insurrection again. This may also damage moral with the public, causing civil unrest in the colonies. As such, IRRELEVANT is highly likely to be a short term solution for the Insurrection, and a secondary plan must be prepared to counter them at a later date.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Midway through writing this chapter, I realized that I'd lost the original plans for both the Monolith and Parthenon. At the beginning of the story, I had written very loose designs for all the ships, and me losing the other half of the notes was slightly problematic as it involved a rather large chunk of info. This would be a reason, not the main one but significant nonetheless, for why the delay took so long. I had to recalculate some stuff and go through the chapters that I've written to rework on that. Luckily, that other half did not involve my notes concerning the 10 UNSC Fleets which you'll all be reading about in the next chapter or two.

Update time is being drafted out as we speak. Expect it to be anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks, and once it updates a second time, I'll try to update it on that date as much as possible.


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